It’s no fun when you’re unable to sleep at night. Particularly when it occurs regularly. You toss and turn and probably stare at the clock (or your phone) and stress about just how fatigued you’ll be the next day. Medical professionals call this type of persistent sleeplessness “insomnia”. With insomnia, the negatives of not sleeping will then begin to add up and can, over time, have a negative influence on your overall health.
And the health of your hearing, not surprisingly, is part of your general health. Yup, your hearing can be negatively impacted by insomnia! Though the relationship between hearing loss and insomnia might not be a cause-and-effect situation, there’s still a connection there.
Can your hearing be affected by lack of sleep?
What could the link between hearing loss and sleep be? According to considerable research, your cardiovascular system can be affected by insomnia over a long period of time. Without the nightly restorative power of sleep, it’s harder for your blood to get everywhere it needs to be.
Insomnia also means an increase in stress and anxiety. Feeling anxious and stressed will impact you in physiological ways as well as mentally.
So, how does hearing loss play into that? Your ears work because they’re filled with delicate little hairs called stereocilia. These delicate hairs vibrate when sound occurs and the information gets transmitted to your brain, which then converts those vibrations into sounds.
These little hairs have a hard time staying healthy when there are circulatory issues. These hairs can, in some cases, be permanently damaged. And once that happens, your hearing will be permanently damaged. Permanent hearing loss can be the result, and the longer the circulation issues persist, the worse the damage will be.
Is the reverse true?
If insomnia can impact your hearing health, can hearing loss stop you from sleeping? Yes, it can! Hearing loss can make the environment really quiet, and some individuals like a little bit of sound when they sleep. For people in this category, that amount of quiet can make it really hard to get a good night’s sleep. Another way that hearing loss could cost you some sleep is if you find yourself anxious about losing your hearing.
If you have hearing loss, what can you do to get a quality night’s sleep? Wearing your hearing aids every day can help minimize stress on your brain at night (when you aren’t wearing them). It can also help if you implement some other sleep-health tips.
How to get a quality night’s sleep
- Find ways to relieve stress: Get away from work and do something relaxing before bed.
- Avoid drinking a couple of hours before bed: Every time you need to get up and go to the bathroom, you start the wake up process. It’s much better to sleep right through the night.
- Don’t drink caffeine after midday.: Even decaf coffee has enough caffeine in it to keep you up at night if you drink it late enough. This includes soda also.
- Maintain your bedroom for sleeping (mostly): Your bedroom is for sleeping in, so try to keep it that way. For example, don’t do work in your bedroom.
- Refrain from drinking alcohol before you go to bed: Your existing sleep cycle will be disturbed by drinking alcohol before bed.
- Exercise regularly: Your body needs to keep moving, and if you aren’t moving, you could end up going to bed with a bit of extra energy. Being active every day can help.
- For at least an hour, avoid looking at screens: (Even longer if possible!) Your brain has a tendency to be activated by looking at screens.
Care for your hearing health
You can still manage your symptoms even if you have hearing loss along with some insomnia.
Make an appointment for a hearing exam today!