Sleepless nights are no fun. Particularly when it happens regularly. You lie awake tossing and turning, checking the time again and again, and stressing about how tired you will be tomorrow. Medical professionals call this kind of persistent sleeplessness “insomnia”. With insomnia, the negatives of not sleeping will then start to compound and can, over time, have a negative influence on your overall health.
And the health of your hearing, not unexpectedly, is part of your general health. Yup, your hearing can be negatively impacted by insomnia! This isn’t exactly a cause-and-effect relationship, but that doesn’t mean there’s no link between hearing loss and insomnia.
Can lack of sleep impact your hearing?
What could the relationship between hearing loss and sleep be? According to considerable research, your cardiovascular system can be impacted by insomnia over a long period of time. It becomes more difficult for your blood to circulate into all of the extremities of your body when you don’t get the renewing power of a good night’s sleep.
Anxiety and stress also increase with insomnia. Feeling anxious and stressed will affect you in physiological ways as well as mentally.
So how is that connected to hearing loss? There are little hairs inside of your ears known as stereocilia. When waves of sound vibrate these tiny hairs, signals are sent to your brain which translates these signals into sound.
These tiny hairs have a difficult time staying healthy when there are circulatory issues. These hairs can, in some instances, be permanently damaged. Damage of this kind is permanent. Permanent hearing loss can be the consequences, and the longer the circulation issues persist, the worse the damage will be.
Is the reverse true?
If insomnia can affect your hearing health, can hearing loss stop you from getting a good night’s sleep? It’s definitely possible. Hearing loss can make the environment very quiet, and some individuals like a little bit of sound when they sleep. For people in this category, that amount of silence can make it very hard to get a good night’s sleep. Any amount of hearing loss anxiety (for instance, if you’re worried about losing your hearing) can have a similar impact.
So how do you get a quality night’s sleep with hearing loss? Wearing your hearing aids during the day can help minimize stress on your brain at night (when you aren’t wearing them). Following other sleep-health tips can also be helpful.
How to get a quality night’s sleep
- Steer clear of screens for at least an hour before bed: (Actually, the longer the better.) Your brain tends to be stimulated by looking at screens.
- Quit drinking caffeine after noon: Even if you drink decaf, it still has enough caffeine to give you difficulty sleeping. Soda also falls into this category.
- Find ways to reduce stress: Get away from work and do something relaxing before bed.
- Exercise regularly: You could go to bed with some extra energy if you don’t get enough exercise. Being active every day can help.
- Refrain from using alcohol before you go to bed: Your natural sleep cycle will be disturbed by drinking alcohol before bed.
- Maintain your bedroom for sleeping (mostly): Try to minimize the amount of things you use your bedroom for. Working in your bedroom isn’t a very good idea.
- Avoid drinking liquids a couple of hours before you go to bed: Needing to get up and go to the bathroom can begin the “wake up” process in your brain. So, sleeping through the night is much better.
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 exam today!