It is a well-known and researched fact that high levels of stress can have a profound negative impact on our physical and mental health. This includes our hearing health.
Stress triggers the body’s fight-or-flight response. This is designed to protect you in an emergency, but when it fires day after day, it has negative health consequences.
Stress and Hearing
Stress can cause strain and dysfunction to the cochlea.
This is an organ within the inner ear that is responsible for encoding sound waves into electrical signals. These signals are then transmitted to the brain, which then interprets them into sounds. Tiny hair-like cells line the inside of the cochlea.
When stress occurs, blood pressure is increased, and blood supply diverts to the muscles. This essentially starves these hair-like cells of oxygenated blood, which they rely on to function. They then become strained and may wither away or die off as a result.
Stress is also linked to another hearing condition called Tinnitus. This is because of tension around the jawline, and heightened awareness of sounds, which may make existing tinnitus worse. Stress activates certain neural pathways, which are closely tied with tinnitus, due to it being a neural condition.
Hearing Tests
An audiologist is a healthcare professional who deals with the diagnosis and treatment of hearing and balance disorders. A specialist audiologist Taunton such as https://www.imperialhearing.com/audiologist-near-me/taunton can assist with all your hearing health needs.
This ranges from carrying out full hearing assessments to ear wax removal, tinnitus management, and hearing aid fitting and aftercare.
