Comorbidities of Hearing Loss

Comorbidity is defined as “the simultaneous presence of two chronic diseases or conditions in a patient.” It may also refer to “the presence of one or more additional disorders occurring simultaneously with a primary disorder.” As with many other medical conditions, hearing loss may occur with one or more comorbidities.

Hearing loss is the third most common medical condition in the United States, after heart disease and arthritis. If you are experiencing a hearing loss, it is important to get annual health check-ups and take an annual hearing test.

Cardiovascular issues, such as heart disease and high blood pressure, might appear alongside hearing loss. Healthy blood flow is crucial in the hearing process, as parts of your inner ear receive sound waves, translate them into neural signals, and process them in the auditory cortex of your brain. The inner ear environment is a sophisticated system of hair cells, fed by adequate blood flow. Limited blood flow, caused by cardiovascular issues, could hinder this process and thus may have adverse effects on your hearing.

At this point in time, we are well aware of the destructive effects of cigarette smoking – lung cancer, heart disease, and so on – but rarely do you hear about the link between smoking and hearing loss. The chemicals found in cigarette smoke are harmful to our inner ear environment. Second-hand smoking increases a risk of hearing loss for those around you, while smoking increases your blood pressure, which leads to the constriction of the small veins in your head and neck area, inevitably affecting your auditory system.

Diabetes is a disease that affects some 30 million Americans. With Type 1 diabetes, the pancreas halts insulin production while in Type 2, the pancreas continues insulin production that is unregistered by cellular impairment which leads to elevated blood glucose levels. Diabetes often leads to complications in the cardiovascular system such as hypertension; adults with diabetes have an increased risk for stroke or heart attacks. Changes in the cardiovascular system may explain a link between diabetes and hearing loss. Studies on links between hearing loss and diabetes are still in nascent stages.

Certain drugs prescribed in chemotherapy treatments are high in ototoxicity, a “poisoning of the ear.” Cisplatin is the most widely used anticancer drug, with a 69% hearing toxicity per doses less than 200 milligrams. Higher doses have been reported to cause total deafness.

Aside from chemo treatments, there are other ototoxic drugs that could harm your hearing. Certain diuretics and antibiotics could damage hair cells of the inner ear, which do not regenerate and thus lead to sensorineural hearing loss. The risk for ototoxicity increases with drugs that affect wider areas of the body, as opposed to drugs that target specific points. If you notice changes in your hearing during your cancer treatment or from other prescription drugs, notify your physician immediately. Do not discontinue use of your prescribed medications, but do talk to your doctors about the side-effects.

Our hearing apparatus is also the center of our sense of balance. With damage to hearing and parts of the auditory system, our sense of balance and relationship to gravity and spatial awareness becomes skewed. As a result, links have been found between untreated hearing loss and an increased rate of falls and other accidents. In 2012, Johns Hopkins University conducted a study that revealed a link between untreated hearing loss and falls: for every 10 decibels of hearing loss, the risk of falling increases by 1.4-fold. It comes as no surprise, then, that untreated hearing loss is also linked with an increased rate of hospitalization.

The link between dementia and hearing loss has been widely studied and explored in the past decade – both nationally and internationally. Dr. Frank Lin at Johns Hopkins University has been at the front of this research, with studies that linked untreated hearing loss to an increased risk for dementia. Dr. Lin’s studies find that untreated hearing loss adds a significant burden to the brain’s cognitive load, which increases the risk for dementia. A 2011 study tracked 639 subjects over a span of 12 to 18 years, monitoring the relationship between their hearing ability and cognitive abilities. Results showed that subjects with poorer hearing abilities that were left untreated had an increased risk of developing dementia. In another study from 2011, Japanese researchers found that the early prescription of hearing aids for subjects with early signs of hearing loss significantly helped with preserving their cognitive abilities.

Most people wait an average of seven years from the time they first notice changes in their hearing to the time they decide to seek treatment for hearing loss. Over this time, untreated hearing loss could contribute to a number of adverse consequences in your physical well-being. Take the first step toward better hearing health, and better overall health, by scheduling a hearing test today. Here at Custom Hearing Solutions, we provide comprehensive hearing tests. Our friendly team is here to support you every step of the way.