Sleepless nights are no fun. And when it occurs on a regular basis, it’s especially vexing. You lie awake tossing and turning, looking at the time over and over, and worrying about how tired you will be tomorrow. Medical professionals call this kind of chronic sleeplessness “insomnia”. With insomnia, the drawbacks of not sleeping will then start to compound and can, over time, have a negative affect on your general health.
And, perhaps not surprisingly, “your general health” includes your hearing health. Yup, your hearing can be negatively impacted by insomnia! Though the relationship between hearing loss and insomnia may not be a cause-and-effect situation, there’s still a connection there.
Can your hearing be affected by lack of sleep?
How could loss of sleep possibly affect your hearing? There’s a substantial amount of research that indicates insomnia, over time, can affect your cardiovascular system. It becomes harder for your blood to circulate into all of the extremities of your body when you don’t get the recuperative power of a good night’s sleep.
Stress and anxiety also increase with insomnia. Being stressed and anxious aren’t only mental states, they’re physiological states, also.
So how is that related to hearing loss? Your ears work because they’re filled with fragile little hairs called stereocilia. When waves of sound vibrate these little hairs, signals are transmitted to your brain which translates these signals into sound.
When your circulatory system isn’t working properly, these hairs have a hard time remaining healthy. In some instances, poor circulation can damage these hairs, permanently. Damage of this kind is permanent. Permanent hearing loss can be the result, and the longer the circulation problems continue, the more significant the damage will be.
Does it also work the other way around?
Is it possible for hearing loss to cause you to lose sleep? It’s absolutely possible. Hearing loss can make the environment very quiet, and some people like a little bit of sound when they sleep. This means that the quiet of hearing loss can sometimes prevent normal sleeping. Any amount of hearing loss anxiety (for instance, if you’re stressed about losing your hearing) can have a similar impact.
So how can you get a good night’s sleep with hearing loss? Wearing your hearing aids every day can help reduce stress on your brain at night (when you aren’t wearing them). It can also be helpful if you follow some other sleep-health tips.
How to get a quality night’s sleep
- For at least 60 minutes, abstain from looking at screens: (Even longer if possible!) Screens have a tendency to activate your brain
- Get some exercise regularly: Your body needs to keep moving, and if you aren’t moving, you may end up going to bed with some excess energy. Being active every day can help.
- Refrain from using alcohol before you go to bed: Your existing sleep cycle will be interrupted by drinking alcohol before bed.
- Try to de-stress as much as possible: It might not be possible to get rid of every stressor from your life, but giving yourself time to de-stress is crucial. Do something relaxing before you go to bed.
- Don’t drink caffeine after lunch.: Even decaf coffee has enough caffeine in it to keep you awake at night if you drink it late enough. This includes soda also.
- Keep 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.
- Avoid drinking a couple of hours before you go to bed: Every time you need to get up and go to the bathroom, you begin the wake up process. It’s better to sleep right through the night.
Be aware of the health of your hearing
Even if you’ve experienced some insomnia-related symptoms before, and have some hearing loss, your symptoms can still be managed.
If you’re concerned about your hearing, set up an appointment with us today.