Your heart works hard to pump blood throughout your body, and keeping it healthy is essential for overall wellness. Poor cardiovascular health increases your risk of developing conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure (hypertension), and those conditions can, in turn, raise your risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
These conditions don’t just affect your heart. They can also damage the tiny blood vessels and nerves involved in hearing, making them significant risk factors for hearing loss.
Diabetes and Hearing Loss
A 2021 study from the National Institutes of Health found that adults with diabetes were about twice as likely to experience hearing loss as those without diabetes. Even people with prediabetes showed an increased risk, with hearing loss rates approximately 30% higher than in the general population.
Although researchers are still working to understand the connection, reduced blood flow is considered a key factor. Elevated blood sugar levels can damage the tiny blood vessels in the inner ear, which are critical for hearing.
Hypertension and Hearing Loss
A 2021 study examined the possible causes of the correlation between hypertension and hearing loss:
- Ototoxic medications. Ototoxic medications are drugs that can damage the auditory system, leading to hearing loss and tinnitus. There are over 200 types of ototoxic medications on the marketplace. Those used to treat cancer and severe hypertension are some of the most common. Because many ototoxic drugs are lifesaving, many patients don’t have an alternative to taking them.
- Blood vessels. Restriction or increased force of the blood vessels supplying the inner ear can damage the auditory system.
Research is still evolving on why this connection exists and how best to reduce the risk of hearing loss. However, we do know that poor cardiovascular health increases the likelihood of developing conditions such as diabetes and hypertension, and those conditions are well‑established risk factors for hearing loss. Finding ways to lower your risk of cardiovascular-related diseases is one way to protect your hearing and whole-body health.
Protecting Your Cardiovascular Health
There are a few ways you can protect your cardiovascular health to lower your risk of complications like hypertension and diabetes:
- Exercise. Exercise is an essential part of a healthy heart. Try adding an extra 10-minute walk around Lenora Park to your day, taking a spin class at your local gym or doing a 15-minute HIIT video each night. Aim for at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity per week.
- Eat healthy. Loading up on fruits and vegetables, healthy fats and whole grains is an excellent and tasty way to improve your cardiovascular health.
- Limit stress. Stress negatively impacts your cardiovascular health. Try to limit stressors as much as possible and set some time aside each day for a stress-relieving activity like journaling or reading.
If you have diabetes or hypertension, you should schedule regular hearing tests to catch changes early. Contact Advanced Hearing today to schedule your test.