What are Some Diseases That Can Cause Hearing Loss?

Suffering from any kind of disability is a big trauma for people as it hinders one’s ability to lead a normal life. There are various factors that can lead to physical and mental disabilities. Around 5% of the world’s population or 430 million people are suffering from hearing disability as per World Health Organization (WHO).

Hearing impairment is a serious health issue that is set to affect 700 million people or 1 in every 10 people is going to suffer from some sort of hearing loss by 2050 as per WHO. The concerning report published by the premier organization demands greater focus on the problem & addressing the factors that do lead to hearing impairment in people.

Among the various factors that lead to hearing loss, there are certain diseases whose onset in people can affect their hearing capacity at some stage of the disease. Here in this article, we have identified these diseases that warrant immediate attention because they can lead to hearing disability.

Cardiovascular Issues

One of the leading causes of hearing loss in aged people is related to cardiovascular diseases. Of late, young people who are suffering from cardiovascular health issues are also reporting hearing problems. Mostly when someone is suffering from a cardiovascular health condition, the proper flow of blood to the inner ear gets seriously affected.

In addition to this, cardiovascular diseases also adversely affect the region in your brain that identifies sounds from your surroundings. Even if the flow of blood to the inner ear is absolutely fine, then also your brain’s ability to identify sounds gets affected considerably leading to hearing impairment.

This is also caused due to lack of proper blood supply to your brain. In addition to this, there are a host of other heart conditions that can cause hearing loss. People suffering from thrombosis, high blood pressure, stroke, and heart attack have also reported suffering from hearing impairment.

Menieres Disorder

Another prominent cause of hearing loss in people is related to Menieres disorder (syndrome). Menieres disease is a problem related to your inner ear that often leads to dizziness called vertigo and hearing loss. People suffering from Menieres disorder often report balance problems along with tinnitus in one or both ears.

Menieres disease is mostly seen in people between 40 and 60 years of age, however, people younger or older than that can also get affected and the disorder can be lifelong. Though the dizziness caused due to the disorder will stop but your hearing loss can be permanent in one or both ears.

It is very important to consult a physician immediately so that Menieres can be treated immediately and if you are suffering from hearing loss due to it, then your physician might recommend a hearing aid device for you to help you hear clearly without any fuss.

Tumour

This is quite rare but still cases have been reported where people suffering from tumour growth between their inner ear and brainstem suffer from hearing loss. The tumour is benign in nature and there is nothing to get concerned about it as long as you have it diagnosed and removed at the earliest when the symptoms of hearing loss start to appear.

Generally, the tumor grows very slowly on one side and you will experience hearing loss or tinnitus just in one ear in which there is tumour growth. Removing the tumour would restore your normal hearing and there isn’t much you should worry about.

Diabetes & Infectious Diseases

Most of the time it is seen that people who are suffering from type 2 diabetes also get affected with some sort of hearing problems either in one ear or both ears. In addition to this, there are many types of infectious diseases caused due to bacterial or viral infections that can cause hearing loss in people.

Infections like Mumps and Measles if not treated immediately can affect the part of the brain associated with identifying sounds or can damage the nerves in the brain leading to hearing loss in people.

Finally

The above-discussed factors are some of the leading diseases that can lead to hearing loss in people. Most of the time permanent hearing loss can be prevented if proper medical attention is received in time so that remedial measures can be initiated to address the diseases.