We all know age is one of the causes of hearing loss. Did you know high blood pressure could lead to hearing loss? High blood pressure (also known as hypertension) happens when your blood is being pushed through your arteries at a fast rate. When a blood pressure is measured it shows two different numbers, one on top and one on the bottom. The top number, known as systolic is the pressure when your heart pushes blood out. The bottom number, known as diastolic is when your heart is relaxed between beats and blood is not being pumped. Normal blood pressure is defined as 120 mmHg over 80 mmHg. There are 3 different stages of high blood pressure. The first being prehypertension, then high blood pressure stage 1, and finally high blood pressure stage 2.
When an individual develops high blood pressure it can damage the walls of arteries and blood vessels, along with the ones in the inner ears, causing hearing loss.
In February 2013, a study conducted by Dr. Mohan Jagade and her colleagues had results concluding there was an association between hypertension and hearing loss. The study involved 274 individuals who were known to have absolutely no previous hearing disorders. Each individual answered a questionnaire about hypertension and medication for high blood pressure along with having their blood pressure measured. Once all the data was collected they used three different grades to classify each subject’s blood pressure. The most severe grade was Hypertension, Stage 3.
The results showed 18% of the subjects without hypertension had a mild hearing loss, 30.7% had grade 1 hypertension, 40.4% had grade 2 hypertension and 54.2% had grade 3 hypertension.
Even though we cannot control our age we can control our blood pressure. High blood pressure can be prevented with the use of medication. However, there are other ways you can prevent high blood pressure.
*Losing weight
*Exercising daily
*Having a balanced diet, low in saturated fat, trans fat and added sugar
*Reducing sodium intake
*Limiting the use of alcohol
If you or someone you know has high blood pressure, contact Advanced Hearing Group to schedule an appointment and hearing test.
