Sleepless nights aren’t any fun. Especially when it happens frequently. You lie awake tossing and turning, looking at the time again and again, and worrying about how exhausted you will be tomorrow. When these kinds of sleepless nights persistently happen, medical professionals tend to use the label “insomnia”. Over time, the effects of persistent insomnia will compound, negatively impacting your general health.
And the health of your hearing, not unexpectedly, is part of your overall health. Yup, your hearing can be negatively affected by insomnia! This isn’t exactly a cause-and-effect relationship, but that doesn’t mean there’s no connection between hearing loss and insomnia.
Can lack of sleep impact your hearing?
What could the relationship between hearing loss and sleep be? There’s a significant amount of research that indicates insomnia, over time, can impact your cardiovascular system. Without the nightly recuperative power of sleep, it’s harder for your blood to get everywhere it needs to be.
Insomnia also means an increase in anxiety and stress. Being stressed and anxious aren’t only mental states, they’re physiological states, as well.
So how is that relevant to hearing loss? Your ears work because they’re filled with fragile little hairs called stereocilia. These fragile hairs vibrate when sound happens and the information gets sent to your brain, which then translates those vibrations into sounds.
When your circulatory system is not working correctly, these hairs have a hard time remaining healthy. In some circumstances, poor circulation can damage these hairs, permanently. Damage of this kind is permanent. This can cause permanent hearing loss, especially the longer it continues.
Is the reverse true?
If insomnia can affect your hearing health, can hearing loss stop you from sleeping? Yes, it can! Many people favor a little background sound when they try to sleep and hearing loss can make your environment very quiet. This means that the quiet of hearing loss can sometimes prevent normal sleeping. Another way that hearing loss could cost you some sleep is if you find yourself anxious about losing your hearing.
If you have hearing loss, what can you do to get a quality night’s sleep? Stress on your brain can be reduced by wearing your hearing aids every day because you won’t be wearing them at night. It can also be helpful if you follow some other sleep-health tips.
Some guidelines for a quality night’s sleep
- Try to avoid drinking a couple of hours before you go to bed: Each time you need to get up and go to the bathroom, you start the wake up process. So, sleeping through the night is better.
- Get some exercise regularly: Your body needs to move, and if you aren’t moving, you could end up going to bed with some excess energy. Getting enough exercise every day will really be helpful.
- Refrain from drinking alcohol before you go to bed: This will simply interrupt your natural sleep cycle.
- Don’t drink caffeine after lunch.: Even if you drink decaf, it still has enough caffeine to give you trouble sleeping. Soda also fits into this category.
- Find ways to reduce stress: It may not be possible to eliminate every stressor from your life, but giving yourself time to unwind is crucial. Do something relaxing before you go to bed.
- For at least 60 minutes, avoid looking at screens: (Actually, the longer the better.) Screens have a tendency to activate your brain
- Try not to utilize your bedroom for other activities besides sleeping: Your bedroom is for sleeping in, so try to maintain that habit. For instance, don’t work in your bedroom.
Care for your hearing health
Even if you’ve experienced some insomnia-associated symptoms in the past, and have some hearing loss, your symptoms can still be managed.
Schedule an appointment for a hearing exam today!
