Sleepless nights are no fun. And when it happens frequnetly, it’s particularly vexing. You toss and turn and probably stare at the clock (or your phone) and worry about just how exhausted you’ll be the next day. When these kinds of sleepless nights persistently happen, medical professionals tend to use the label “insomnia”. With insomnia, the negatives of not sleeping will then begin to add up and can, after a while, have a negative influence on your overall health.
And, maybe not surprisingly, “your general health” includes your hearing 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 lack of sleep impact your hearing?
How could loss of sleep possibly impact your hearing? According to considerable research, your cardiovascular system can be impacted by insomnia over a long time period. It becomes more difficult for your blood to flow into all of the extremities of your body when you don’t get the recuperative power of a good night’s sleep.
Stress and anxiety also increase when you have insomnia. Being stressed and anxious aren’t only mental states, they’re physiological states, too.
So how is that relevant to hearing loss? There are tiny hairs inside of your ears known as stereocilia. When sound waves vibrate these little hairs, signals are transmitted to your brain which translates these signals into sound.
These tiny hairs have a hard time staying healthy when there are circulatory issues. In some circumstances, poor circulation can damage these hairs, permanently. Damage of this type is permanent. Permanent hearing loss can be the consequences, and the longer the circulation problems continue, the worse the damage will be.
Does it also work the other way around?
If insomnia can affect your hearing health, can hearing loss stop you from sleeping? It’s definitely possible. Many individuals prefer a little background noise when they try to sleep and hearing loss can make the world very quiet. This means that the quiet of hearing loss can in some cases prevent normal sleeping. Another way that hearing loss might cost you some sleep is if you find yourself stressed about losing your hearing.
If you have hearing loss, what can you do to get a good night’s sleep? Wearing your hearing aids every day can help reduce stress on your brain at night (when you aren’t wearing them). Following other sleep-health tips can also be helpful.
Some guidelines for a quality night’s sleep
- Avoid drinking a couple of hours before bed: Needing to get up and go to the bathroom can initiate the “wake up” process in your brain. It’s better to sleep right through the night.
- Avoid screens for at least an hour before going to bed: (Even longer if possible!) Screens tend to stimulate your brain
- Try not to utilize your bedroom for other activities other than sleeping: Your bedroom is for sleeping in, so try to keep it that way. Working in your bedroom is not a very good plan.
- Before you go to bed, refrain from drinking alcohol: Your natural sleep cycle will be interrupted by drinking alcohol before bed.
- Don’t drink caffeine after lunch.: Even decaf coffee has enough caffeine in it to keep you awake at night if you drink it late enough. Soda also fits into this category.
- Get some exercise regularly: You may go to bed with some extra energy if you don’t get enough exercise. Being active every day can help.
- Find ways to relieve stress: It may not be possible to get rid of every stressor from your life, but giving yourself time to unwind is crucial. Do something relaxing before bed.
Pay attention to the health of your hearing
You can still control your symptoms even if you have hearing loss along with some insomnia.
Make an appointment for a hearing test today!