Can Your Hearing Reveal Clues About Your Heart Health?

Hearing Loss and Cardiovascular Health May Be More Connected Than You Think

Most people think of hearing loss as something related to aging, noise exposure, or problems with the ear itself. But research suggests that certain patterns of hearing loss may also provide clues about cardiovascular health.

Studies have found an association between low-frequency hearing loss and cardiovascular conditions including stroke, coronary artery disease, and peripheral arterial disease, even after accounting for common risk factors such as age, high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, and high cholesterol.

Shawn Denham, AuD, audiologist and Audiology Program Director at Boulder Medical Center, explains why the inner ear may be particularly sensitive to changes in blood flow and what certain hearing test results may tell us about overall vascular health.

What Is the Connection Between Hearing Loss and Heart Health?

The inner ear depends on a healthy blood supply to function properly. In the inner ear, the cochlea converts sound vibrations into signals the brain can understand.

The cochlea depends heavily on consistent blood flow because it receives its blood supply through a single terminal artery and has little backup circulation. This makes it particularly vulnerable to reduced blood flow and changes in the small blood vessels.

The part of the cochlea that processes low-frequency sounds may be especially sensitive to these changes. As a result, vascular problems elsewhere in the body may sometimes show up as a low-frequency sensorineural hearing loss pattern on a hearing test, or audiogram.

This differs from the high-frequency hearing loss that is more commonly associated with aging and long-term noise exposure.

Can Low-Frequency Hearing Loss Be a Sign of Cardiovascular Disease?

Low-frequency hearing loss does not mean that someone has cardiovascular disease, and a hearing test cannot diagnose heart disease or predict a stroke.

However, research suggests that unexplained low-frequency sensorineural hearing loss may be worth considering as one piece of a person’s overall health picture.

In a study of 1,168 patients published in The Laryngoscope, researchers found that low-frequency hearing loss was associated with cerebrovascular disease, including stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA), coronary artery disease, previous heart attack and peripheral arterial disease. These associations remained even after researchers accounted for age, hypertension, diabetes, smoking and high cholesterol.

Earlier research involving 1,662 older adults from the Framingham Heart Study also found associations between low-frequency hearing loss and cardiovascular events.

More recent research from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study found that persistent high blood pressure from midlife through later life was associated with poorer auditory processing later in life, further supporting a relationship between long-term vascular health and hearing.

Why Does Cardiovascular Health Matter for Hearing?

Healthy circulation delivers oxygen and nutrients throughout the body, including to the delicate structures of the inner ear.

Conditions that affect blood vessels and circulation may interfere with that process. Over time, changes in vascular health may damage the auditory system and affect how well a person hears or processes sound.

This connection is one reason hearing health should be considered as part of overall health, particularly for people who already have cardiovascular disease or cardiovascular risk factors.

When Should You Have Your Hearing Checked?

A hearing evaluation may be helpful if you have noticed changes in your hearing, have difficulty understanding conversations, or have been told by others that you may not be hearing as well as you once did.

People with established cardiovascular disease may also benefit from discussing hearing screening with their healthcare provider or audiologist.

A hearing evaluation is quick and noninvasive. It can identify the type and degree of hearing loss and help determine whether additional evaluation or treatment may be appropriate.

Finding hearing loss early can also help address problems before they begin to significantly affect communication, safety, and quality of life.

Let’s Talk

If you have noticed a change in your hearing or would like to better understand your hearing health, Boulder Medical Center’s audiologists provide comprehensive hearing evaluations for adults and children in Boulder and Louisville, Colorado.

Learn more about BMC Audiology and make an appointment.

Sources

• Friedland DR, Cederberg C, Tarima S. Audiometric pattern as a predictor of cardiovascular status. Laryngoscope. 2009;119(3):473–486.
• Gates GA, Cobb JL, D’Agostino RB, Wolf PA. The relation of hearing in the elderly to the presence of cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular risk factors. Archives of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery. 1993;119(2):156–161.
• Ting J, Jiang K, Reed NS, Lin FR, Deal JA, et al. Longitudinal blood pressure patterns from mid- to late life and late-life hearing loss. Journal of Gerontology: Series A. 2022;77(3):640–646.