It’s not fun when you can’t sleep at night. Especially when it occurs regularly. You lie awake tossing and turning, checking the time again and again, and worrying about how exhausted you will be tomorrow. Medical professionals call this type of chronic sleeplessness “insomnia”. With insomnia, the downsides of not sleeping will then start to add up and can, over time, have a negative impact on your general health.
And, perhaps not surprisingly, “your general health” includes the health of your hearing. That’s correct, insomnia can have an affect on your ability to hear. Though the relationship between hearing loss and insomnia may not be a cause-and-effect scenario, there’s still a connection there.
Can lack of sleep impact your hearing?
What could the link between hearing loss and sleep be? According to substantial research, your cardiovascular system can be influenced by insomnia over a long period of time. It becomes harder for your blood to circulate into all of the extremities of your body when you aren’t getting the regenerative power of a good night’s sleep.
Stress and anxiety also increase with insomnia. Feeling anxious and stressed 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 known as stereocilia. These fragile hairs vibrate when sound takes place and the information gets sent to your brain, which then translates those vibrations into sounds.
When your circulatory system is not functioning correctly, these hairs have a hard time thriving. In some situations, poor circulation can damage these hairs, permanently. Damage of this kind is permanent. This can cause permanent hearing loss, especially the longer it persists.
Is the reverse true?
Is it possible for hearing loss to make you lose sleep? It’s absolutely possible. Many individuals 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 in some cases prevent normal sleeping. Any amount of hearing loss anxiety (for instance, if you’re stressed about losing your hearing) can have a similar impact.
If you have hearing loss, what can you do to get a good night’s sleep? Wearing your hearing aids during the day can help lessen stress on your brain at night (when you’re not wearing them). It can also help if you implement some other sleep-health tips.
How to get a quality night’s sleep
- For at least 60 minutes, avoid looking at screens: (Even longer if possible!) Screens have a tendency to activate your brain
- Try not to utilize your bedroom for other activities other than sleeping: Try to limit the amount of things you use your bedroom for. For example, don’t work in your bedroom.
- Avoid using alcohol before you go to bed: Your natural sleep cycle will be interrupted by drinking alcohol before bed.
- Exercise regularly: You could go to bed with some excess energy if you don’t get enough exercise. Being active every day can help.
- Stop drinking caffeine after noon: Even if you drink decaf, it still has enough caffeine to give you difficulty sleeping. This includes soda as well.
- Try to avoid drinking liquids 2 hours before bed: Having to get up and go to the bathroom can start the “wake up” process in your brain. So, sleeping through the night is better.
- Find ways to reduce stress: It may not be possible to remove every stressor from your life, but giving yourself time to unwind is crucial. Do something relaxing before you go to bed.
Care for your hearing health
You can still control your symptoms even if you have hearing loss along with some insomnia.
Make an appointment for a hearing test today!