We’ve known for a long time that eating too much is harmful to our health, especially over longer periods of time. There are a number of health conditions that are connected to obesity. Heart disease, high cholesterol, diabetes, and you can put hearing on the list, as well. It’s calculated that roughly 48 million people in the U . S ., around 20% of the nation’s population, suffer from hearing loss, and around twice that amount of adults, 93 million, are obese. Throughout the country, these surprising numbers point out a serious health problem.
How Is Obesity Related to Loss of Hearing?
Various studies have demonstrated that there’s a relationship between obesity and hearing loss. Even though researchers are still studying the connection, it’s believed that obesity is related to loss of hearing because the circulatory system is affected. Also, obesity is associated with high blood pressure and diabetes, which are also connected to hearing loss.
The inner ears are filled with little hairs that perceive sound in the ear. In order to work properly, these little hairs, called stereocilia, have to have a steady flow of blood. Due to obesity, the flow of blood is restricted in the body since the heart must work harder to get the blood to flow throughout the body, which means that your inner ear is operating on too little blood flow. The ears can be permanently harmed in this way. Heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes impact the inner ear in a similar manner, because each of these illnesses negatively impacts your blood flow.
It’s especially important to keep control of your weight as you get older since age-related hearing loss is also connected to a high fat mass index. Your body’s metabolism can’t work as well or as fast as it did in the past, which is the reason why you should attempt to stick with healthy habits that you started when you were younger.
Your ears and your overall health are helped by good nutrition.
Obesity Related Loss of Hearing Treatments
If your hearing loss is triggered by obesity, you may never be able to get it back, still, in order to find out how significant your loss of hearing is, it’s necessary to get your ears examined. If you have permanent damage, you might require a hearing aid or other device to start hearing properly again.
If the injury is only slight, you might have considered trying to consult your doctor before your health gets worse, about making a diet and exercise plan to decrease the impact your weight has on your health. Your doctor should set up a cardio intensive exercise regimen that will get your blood pumping and strengthen your general health. You will most likely find that other aspects of your life also get better, like mental health, since day to day exercise has been shown to reduce depression.
How to Prevent Obesity-Related Loss of Hearing
In order to avoid obesity-related loss of hearing day to day exercise and a nutritious diet are extremely important. Your ears will certainly be kept in better shape if you keep yourself healthy. A program that can help you achieve your goals and that is customized for you can be specially designed by a nutritionist. The nutritionist can make certain you’re consuming the correct mix of nutrients in healthy foods, foods that have plenty of iron, for instance, because of course, a lack of iron in your diet can result in tinnitus and cause hearing loss.
Find out more regarding hearing loss and how you can hear better with the right treatment method.