In the 21st century, we all have been experiencing pressure. Stress is a state of mental strain induced by external factors.
Stress is a biological reaction that enables chemicals and hormones to surge through the body when encountering a threat or obstacle. It activates your body’s flight or fight response to deter or battle risk. It provides an extra shot of adrenaline and cortisol to the body to help you feel energized. These chemicals and hormones make the heart pump quicker, thereby increasing the blood supply to the organs.
Even though it is a natural response of your body, it’s not always pleasant if you haven’t returned to normal for a long time. Chronic stress can lead to adverse health effects, such as headaches, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, and hearing loss. Let us understand how high stress can lead to hearing loss and how to deal with it.
Stress and hearing loss
If the blood circulation is disturbed for a prolonged duration of time, it can lead to hearing damage. The tiny sensory hairs in your ear are responsible for translating external sounds into electrical impulses and carrying them to the brain for interpretation. Proper Circulation of blood is essential for transmitting audio signals to your brain.
When stress disturbs your blood flow, this process gets hindered, resulting in sensorineural hearing loss. Approximately 53% of people with sensorineural hearing loss have experienced chronic stress. Tinnitus is one of the early warning signs of hearing loss caused by poor blood circulation. It is a symptom where people experience buzzing noises without an external stimulus. Patients with these signs should visit hearing healthcare specialists for an early diagnosis.
De-Stress yourself
The first step to prevent hearing loss due to stress is to reduce stress levels in your body. Before we jump into some ways of coping with stress, take a big deep breath, and let go of everything that saddens you.
20 minutes Walk:
If you’ve been working for a long time or worrying about anything persistently, take a break for 20 minutes. Go for a walk. Walking for about 20 minutes releases endorphins and lowers your stress level.
Do what makes you happy:
Watch a good movie, listen to high beat music, hang out with friends, talk to your loved one, or opt for a facial massage. By doing anything that makes you happy, your cortisol level goes down, thus, lowering the stress levels.
Meditation:
Practicing meditation every day can do wonders in your life. Sit idle for about 10-20 minutes and notice your breaths, your thoughts, and your senses. Listen to all those tiny sounds around you and bring awareness to your mind. Meditation not just helps you to relax your body, it also brings more emotional stability to your life.
To let go of all the stress and prevent your hearing, practice mindfulness.
Well, being stressed can lead to hearing loss, and hearing loss can create more trouble in your life.
If you are worried about your hearing and not sure about your symptoms, spend two minutes to assess your hearing challenges. HAC’s Online Hearing Assessment can quickly analyze your hearing ability.
Leave out the stress, take the assessment, get in touch with your hearing care specialist, and make your life easy.
