As we age, our organs age with us, and as a result, the way we care for our bodies naturally changes. At Beneficial Hearing Aid Center, we’re particularly specialized in hearing health and auditory systems, and we want to inform our patients about the many ways the aging process and other body systems influence hearing.
The Connection Between Heart Health and Hearing Health
Your heart is the central organ of your whole body. It pumps oxygen-enriched, nutrient-rich blood throughout the body to enable the proper functioning of other organs and systems.
The auditory system, too, relies on blood. The delicate sensory cells of the inner ear need oxygen and nutrients to pick up sound signals and transmit them to the brain. If these sensory cells die or are damaged in any way, they can no longer function, which is how hearing loss occurs. Without a regular supply of nutrients, they weaken and deteriorate.
How Your Heart Changes with Age
Just like your skin gains wrinkles and your hair turns colors, your heart also changes as you age. Here are some of the ways your heart may show its age:
- Changed heart rate. It’s normal for your heart rate to rise during physical activity and times of stress, but when you get older, your heart can’t beat as fast, even during these times. This may lead to increased feelings of being winded or dizziness, as your body demands an increase of nutrients, but your heart can’t deliver them as fast.
- Stiffer valves. Your heart has chambers that are separated by valves. These valves are made of tissue, which may become thicker and stiffer as you get older. Stiffer valves can limit blood flow out of the heart or become leaky.
- Thickened heart wall. Those heart chambers hold blood and pump it into the body. As you age, the muscles that make up the walls of these chambers may thicken, reducing the volume of open space inside the chambers and leading to changes in blood flow and pressure.
- Accumulated other health conditions. Your lifestyle impacts how you age. After a lifetime of your diet, exercise and other lifestyle choices, you may experience impacts on your cardiovascular health, such as high cholesterol, high or low blood sugar and other conditions.
All of these factors will increase your chances of developing a heart condition, such as heart disease, the leading cause of death in adults over age 75. Additionally, heart conditions will change how blood is delivered to your ears, which, in turn, will affect your hearing health. Heart disease is known to be associated with an increased risk of hearing loss.
How to Manage Heart Health and Hearing Health as You Age
We want to have this discussion, not to scare you, but to give you meaningful information on how you can take care of your body as you get older. Here are our main suggestions on how to do that.
- Live a heart-healthy lifestyle. Discuss with your doctor ways you can be proactive with your cardiovascular health. This may include things like exercising regularly, staying hydrated, eating a heart-healthy diet, getting enough sleep, drinking alcohol only in moderation and quitting smoking, if you’re a smoker.
- Monitor heart health. Don’t skip your regular doctor visits, as these appointments provide an opportunity to check in on your heart health. Your primary care physician will usually take your pulse and blood pressure at each appointment to monitor for changes or abnormalities.
- Monitor hearing health. It’s recommended that you get your hearing checked every year after you turn 65. Even if you don’t think you have symptoms of hearing loss, it’s a good idea to check in on your hearing health frequently to catch changes before they progress.
- Remember this connection. This is basically combining the previous two points, but if you know you have a heart condition or other cardiovascular issue, keep the connection between heart health and hearing health in mind and prioritize tracking your hearing. Get a hearing test shortly after diagnosis to establish a baseline.
Aging is a natural process, and sometimes it requires some extra care from you. If you need to schedule a hearing test to monitor your hearing health, give us a call at Beneficial Hearing Aid Center to set up an appointment.