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Man talking with healthcare provider about his diabetes and hearing loss.

Your body and an ecosystem have some similarities. In nature, all of the birds and fish will be affected if something goes wrong with the pond; and all of the animals and plants that depend on the birds will disappear if the birds disappear. The human body, frequently unbeknownst to us, operates on very similar methods of interconnection. That’s the reason why something that appears isolated, like hearing loss, can be connected to a wide variety of other ailments and diseases.

This is, in a way, evidence of the interdependence of your body and it’s similarity to an ecosystem. When something affects your hearing, it may also impact your brain. These conditions are called comorbid, a name that is specialized and signifies when two ailments affect each other but don’t necessarily have a cause and effect relationship.

We can discover a lot concerning our bodies’ ecosystem by comprehending ailments that are comorbid with hearing loss.

Hearing Loss And The Conditions That Are Connected to it

So, let’s assume that you’ve been recognizing the symptoms of hearing loss for the last few months. It’s harder to follow conversations in restaurants. You’ve been turning up the volume on your television. And certain sounds seem so distant. When this is the situation, the majority of people will make an appointment with a hearing professional (this is the wise thing to do, actually).

Your hearing loss is linked to several health problems whether your aware of it or not. Some of the health problems that have documented comorbidity with hearing loss include:

  • Vertigo and falls: your inner ear is your primary tool for balance. There are some forms of hearing loss that can play havoc with your inner ear, resulting in dizziness and vertigo. Any loss of balance can, naturally, cause falls, and as you age, falls will become increasingly dangerous.
  • Cardiovascular disease: on occasion hearing loss doesn’t have anything to do with cardiovascular conditions. But at times hearing loss can be aggravated by cardiovascular disease. That’s because one of the first symptoms of cardiovascular disease is trauma to the blood vessels of the inner ear. Your hearing could suffer as a result of the of that trauma.
  • Diabetes: likewise, diabetes can wreak havoc with your overall body’s nervous system (particularly in your extremities). the nerves in the ear are particularly likely to be affected. Hearing loss can be entirely caused by this damage. But your symptoms can be compounded because diabetes related nerve damage can cause you to be more susceptible to hearing loss from other factors.
  • Dementia: neglected hearing loss has been linked to a higher chance of dementia, although the root cause of that relationship is not clear. Research indicates that using a hearing aid can help slow down cognitive decline and lower many of these dementia risks.
  • Depression: a whole host of problems can be caused by social isolation due to hearing loss, many of which are related to your mental health. So depression and anxiety, not surprisingly, have been shown in several studies, to have a high rate of comorbidity with hearing loss.

Is There Anything That You Can do?

When you stack all of those related health conditions added together, it can look a bit intimidating. But it’s worthwhile to keep one thing in mind: enormous positive impact can be gained by managing your hearing loss. While researchers and scientists don’t exactly know, for instance, why dementia and hearing loss show up together so often, they do know that managing hearing loss can dramatically lower your dementia risks.

So the best way to go, regardless of what comorbid condition you may be concerned about, is to have your hearing tested.

Part of an Ecosystem

That’s the reason why more medical professionals are viewing hearing health with new eyes. Instead of being a rather limited and specific area of concern, your ears are thought of as intimately linked to your overall wellness. In a nutshell, we’re beginning to view the body more like an interrelated ecosystem. Hearing loss doesn’t necessarily arise in isolation. So it’s more significant than ever that we keep your eye on the totality, not to the proverbial pond or the birds in isolation, but to your health as a whole.

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The site information is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. To receive personalized advice or treatment, schedule an appointment.
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