Here’s how stress and anxiety can affect your hearing

Stress can cause tinnitus.

Our bodies are meticulously designed machines with very specific micro-functions. If even one small system of the body is unbalanced, other systems can suffer. With so many internal and external factors affecting these systems, it’s no wonder issues can be common. This is especially true in light  of the fact that stress is so common in today’s world, and it has one of the biggest impacts of all on the human body, including with hearing.

For example, one of the central brain systems our body uses to respond to stress is the hypothalamus pituitary adrenal axis. Doctors have discovered this axis is often disturbed in people who have tinnitus. An overactive nervous system resulting from stress can also be linked to tinnitus. Stress is just as likely to cause tinnitus as occupational noise. Patients who have much stress, combined with occupational noise, have double the chances of developing tinnitus.

One study found that 65% of participants with tinnitus also had stress symptoms. The greater the person’s amount of stress, the bigger the impact of tinnitus on their daily life. Many tinnitus patients also battle issues with depression, or develop tinnitus around the same time they experience a stressful event. Anxiety and stress affect the body in ways that could cause hearing loss on a mild to moderate level due to a variety of changes it can trigger in the body.

Stress may cause ear pressure.

One factor stress can trigger is ear pressure. If you have ear discomfort, a feeling of fullness in the ear, trouble hearing, jaw pain, dizziness, or tinnitus, it could mean you have extra pressure in your ear. This could be caused by a variety of things, such as eustachian tube dysfunction, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder, or hypervigilance. All of these conditions can be triggered by stress.

In eustachian tube dysfunction, anxiety creates muscle tension around the tubes connecting the ear and throat, which can cause negative ear pressure. With TMJ, stress can cause a person to grind their teeth or clench their jaw. This causes inflammation or tension around the ear, also resulting in pressure changes within the middle ear. Finally, as anxiety can make a person hypervigilant or more sensitive to his or her surroundings, ear pressure may be more noticeable or bothersome.

Stress can reduce blood flow.

A stressed body produces extra adrenaline. When too much adrenaline is present, it reduces blood flow to the ear. The hair cells in the inner ear need steady blood volume to ensure a balance of oxygen and nutrients. When blood flow to the ear is reduced, these cells are disrupted, and hearing impairment or tinnitus can occur. In addition, some brain cells contain neurons involved in hearing processes that are sensitive to stress-induced high cortisol levels. When these cells are impacted by the cortisol, it can also interrupt proper hearing and result in tinnitus.

Vertigo and numbness

It may seem like an odd correlation, but anxiety can cause physical symptoms such as dizziness (or vertigo) side-by-side with tinnitus. When anxiety spikes cortisol and adrenaline, it affects balance. This is because the organ in the inner ear that controls balance is made up of tiny hairs that detect movement and send information to your brain. When stress levels are high, your hormones interrupt the path of this information to your brain, which impairs balance and proper hearing. Tinnitus is caused by these same types of interruptions to the delicate balance of the inner ear.

Stress and anxiety can also trigger ear numbness as a result of disturbing this same inner ear system. However, patients should be aware that ear numbness can also be a possible sign of stroke if it accompanies facial drooping, limb weakness, or difficulty speaking are also being experienced. If this is the case, you should seek immediate medical care. If the numbness is accompanied by vertigo, mild hearing loss, or tinnitus, it could be Meniere’s disease, a disorder of the inner ear. Regardless, all of these instances are good reasons to schedule an appointment with a healthcare provider.

That is why you often see these symptoms exist side-by-side, especially in patients with stress or anxiety. As a result, one of the first steps to treating tinnitus could be finding ways to reduce stress levels.

Ways to manage stress

There are many ways to get a handle on stress and hopefully reduce the hearing issues related to it. With time and consistency, using methods that work best with your lifestyle should result in improvement of symptoms.

Stress-management methods to try:

• Practice deep breathing combined with guided meditation, which can help with muscle tension and pressure.
• Listening to calming music quiets the body’s nervous system and can help slow the racing thoughts that trigger stress.
• Stretching and moving the jaw will help relieve tension in the facial muscles and surrounding areas.
• Regular exercise and getting proper nutrients through diet help maintain overall wellness, which can reduce anxiety.
• Stay hydrated and minimize caffeine, alcohol and tobacco. Doing so helps prevent becoming deficient in important hormones and nutrients that maintain a sense of peace and well-being.
• Therapy or support groups to address the root causes of anxiety are an excellent option, especially if stress has been ongoing.

If your stress and anxiety are severe or long-lasting, talk to a doctor about more advanced options for treatment, which could include medication to get symptoms under control. Whatever the circumstances, maintain a positive outlook; resolving stress can not only resolve a variety of hearing issues, but will greatly improve your health and lifestyle overall.