Your body is a lot like an ecosystem. In nature, all of the fish and birds will suffer if something goes wrong with the pond; and when the birds go away so too do all of the animals and plants that rely on those birds. We might not recognize it but our body works on very comparable principals. That’s the reason why something which seems to be isolated, such as hearing loss, can be connected to a large number of other ailments and diseases.
This is, in a sense, evidence of the interdependence of your body and it’s similarity to an ecosystem. Your brain might also be impacted if something affects your hearing. These conditions are identified as comorbid, a term that is specialized and indicates when two conditions affect each other but don’t always have a cause and effect connection.
We can discover a lot regarding our bodies’ ecosystem by comprehending disorders that are comorbid with hearing loss.
Diseases Associated With Hearing Loss
So, let’s suppose that you’ve been recognizing the symptoms of hearing loss for the last couple of months. You’ve been having a hard time hearing conversation when you go out to eat. The volume of your television is constantly getting louder. And certain sounds sound so distant. It would be a good choice at this point to make an appointment with a hearing professional.
Your hearing loss is connected to several health problems whether your aware of it or not. Some of the health problems that have documented comorbidity with hearing loss include:
- Depression: a whole host of concerns can be caused by social isolation because of hearing loss, some of which are related to your mental health. So anxiety and depression, not surprisingly, have been found in several studies, to have a high rate of comorbidity with hearing loss.
- Cardiovascular disease: hearing loss and cardiovascular conditions aren’t always interconnected. But at times hearing loss can be aggravated by cardiovascular disease. That’s because one of the initial signs of cardiovascular disease is trauma to the blood vessels in the inner ear. As that trauma escalates, your hearing might suffer as an outcome.
- Vertigo and falls: your main tool for balance is your inner ear. Vertigo and dizziness can be triggered by some types of hearing loss because they have a negative influence on the inner ear. Any loss of balance can, naturally, cause falls, and as you age, falls can become increasingly hazardous.
- Diabetes: likewise, your whole nervous system can be influenced in a negative way by diabetes (specifically in your extremities). the nerves in the ear are particularly likely to be damaged. This damage can cause loss of hearing by itself. But diabetes-related nerve damage can also make you more prone to hearing loss caused by other issues, often compounding your symptoms.
- Dementia: a higher chance of dementia has been associated with hearing loss, though it’s not clear what the base cause is. Research indicates that using a hearing aid can help impede cognitive decline and decrease a lot of these dementia risks.
What’s The Solution?
It can seem a bit scary when all those health conditions get added together. But one thing should be kept in mind: treating your hearing loss can have huge positive impacts. Scientists and researchers know that if hearing loss is addressed, the chance of dementia substantially lowers even though they don’t really know precisely why dementia and hearing loss show up together in the first place.
So regardless of what your comorbid condition may be, the best way to go is to get your hearing checked.
Part of an Ecosystem
That’s the reason why more health care specialists are looking at hearing health with new eyes. Instead of being a rather limited and targeted area of concern, your ears are thought of as intimately linked to your general wellness. In a nutshell, we’re beginning to view the body more like an interrelated environment. Hearing loss isn’t an isolated scenario. So it’s relevant to pay attention to your health as a whole.