It’s no fun when you can’t sleep at night. 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. Medical professionals call this kind of persistent sleeplessness “insomnia”. Over time, the effects of persistent insomnia will add up, negatively impacting your overall health.
And the health of your hearing, not surprisingly, is part of your general health. Yup, your hearing can be negatively affected by insomnia! Though the relationship between hearing loss and insomnia might not be a cause-and-effect scenario, there’s still a connection there.
Can your hearing be impacted by lack of sleep?
How could loss of sleep possibly affect your hearing? According to significant research, your cardiovascular system can be affected by insomnia over a long time period. 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 stress and anxiety. Feeling stressed and anxious will impact you in physiological ways as well as mentally.
So, how does hearing loss play into that? There are little hairs inside of your ears called stereocilia. These delicate hairs vibrate when sound takes place and the information gets transmitted to your brain, which then translates those vibrations into sounds.
These tiny hairs have a hard time remaining healthy when there are circulatory issues. In some situations, poor circulation can damage these hairs, permanently. Damage of this type is permanent. This can result in permanent hearing loss, especially the longer it continues.
Does it also work the other way around?
If insomnia can impact your hearing health, can hearing loss stop you from sleeping? It’s absolutely possible. Hearing loss can make the environment very quiet, and some individuals like a little bit of noise when they try to sleep. 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 good night’s sleep? Stress on your brain can be reduced by wearing your hearing aids every day because you won’t be wearing them while you sleep. Following other sleep-health tips can also be helpful.
How to get a good night’s sleep
- Try to avoid drinking 2 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.
- Find ways to relieve stress: It may not be possible to eliminate every stressor from your life, but giving yourself time to unwind is critical. Do something relaxing before you go to bed.
- Quit drinking caffeine after noon: Even decaf coffee has enough caffeine in it to keep you awake at night if you drink at night. Soda also falls into this category.
- Keep your bedroom for sleeping (mostly): Your bedroom is for sleeping in, so try to keep it that way. For instance, don’t do work in your bedroom.
- Get some exercise regularly: Your body needs to keep moving, and if you aren’t moving, you might end up going to bed with some extra energy. Getting enough exercise every day will really be helpful.
- Avoid screens for at least 1 hour before bed: (Actually, the longer the better.) Screens tend to stimulate your brain
- Refrain from using alcohol before you go to bed: Your existing sleep cycle will be disrupted by drinking alcohol before bed.
Be aware of the health of your hearing
Even if you have experienced some insomnia-related symptoms in the past, and have some hearing loss, your symptoms can still be managed.
Make an appointment for a hearing exam today!
