Your body and an ecosystem have some similarities. In nature, all of the fish and birds will suffer if something happens to the pond; and when the birds disappear so too do all of the plants and animals that depend on those birds. We may not realize it but our body works on very comparable principals. That’s the reason why a wide variety of illnesses can be connected to something which at first appears so isolated like hearing loss.
In a way, that’s just more proof of your body’s ecosystem-like interdependence. When something affects your hearing, it may also influence your brain. We call these conditions comorbid, a fancy (and specialized) label that illustrates a connection between two conditions without necessarily pointing directly at a cause-and-effect relationship.
We can discover a lot regarding our bodies’ ecosystem by comprehending ailments that are comorbid with hearing loss.
Diseases Associated With Hearing Loss
So, let’s suppose that you’ve been noticing the signs of hearing loss for the last couple of months. You’ve been having a hard time making out conversation when you go out to eat. The volume of your television is constantly getting louder. And some sounds sound so far away. It would be a smart choice at this point to make an appointment with a hearing specialist.
Your hearing loss is connected to numerous health problems whether your aware of it or not. Some of the health conditions that have documented comorbidity with hearing loss include:
- Depression: a whole host of concerns can be the consequence of social isolation due to hearing loss, some of which are related to your mental health. So depression and anxiety, not surprisingly, have been shown in several studies, to have a high rate of comorbidity with hearing loss.
- Cardiovascular disease: on occasion hearing loss has nothing to connect it with cardiovascular conditions. In other cases, cardiovascular problems can make you more susceptible to hearing loss. That’s because one of the initial symptoms of cardiovascular disease is trauma to the blood vessels in the inner ear. As that trauma gets worse, your hearing could suffer as an outcome.
- Vertigo and falls: your main tool for balance is your inner ear. There are some forms of hearing loss that can play havoc with your inner ear, resulting in dizziness and vertigo. Falls are progressively more dangerous as you get older and falls can happen whenever someone loses their balance
- Dementia: neglected hearing loss has been linked to a higher risk of dementia, although the underlying cause of that relationship is unclear. Many of these cases of dementia and also cognitive decline can be reduced, according to research, by using hearing aids.
- Diabetes: additionally, diabetes can have a negative affect on your nervous system all over your body (specifically in your extremities). one of the areas especially likely to be damaged are the nerves in the ear. This damage can cause loss of hearing all on its own. But diabetes-related nerve damage can also make you more vulnerable to hearing loss caused by other issues, often adding to your symptoms.
What’s The Answer?
When you add all of those connected health conditions on top of each other, it can look a bit intimidating. But it’s important to remember one thing: dealing with your hearing loss can have enormous positive impacts. While scientists and researchers don’t exactly know, for instance, why dementia and hearing loss show up together so often, they do know that managing hearing loss can significantly lower your risk of dementia.
So the best course of action, regardless of what comorbid condition you might be concerned about, is to get your hearing checked.
Part of an Ecosystem
This is the reason why health care specialists are reconsidering the importance of how to manage hearing loss. Your ears are being considered as a part of your general health profile instead of being a targeted and limited issue. We’re starting to consider the body as an interconnected environment in other words. Hearing loss doesn’t necessarily arise in isolation. So it’s relevant to pay attention to your health as a whole.