The link between high blood pressure and impaired hearing isn’t difficult to understand. When your blood pressure is high, your blood vessels are damaged. This damage isn’t centered in one area of the body – your entire body is affected, including your ears. And when the blood vessels in your ears are damaged – and have a fatty plaque buildup – your hearing could be impaired.
A study published just last February demonstrated a clear link between hypertension and hearing loss. The study included 274 patients between the ages of 45-64, and found that as blood pressure increased, hearing diminished. They also found that as blood pressure was brought under control, hearing could be restored.
The study concluded that high blood pressure can accelerate hearing loss, and because hearing affects a person’s quality of life so dramatically, it is important that people with high blood pressure get their hearing checked by a trained audiologist immediately to ensure that their hearing isn’t affected by hypertension.
When your blood pressure is high, it means the blood is pushing through your arteries very fast. This fast-moving blood can cause damage to the lining of artery walls, and in those damaged areas, fatty plaque can build up. Over time, too much damage to the artery walls – and too much fatty plaque buildup – can lead to diminished or stopped blood flow. And that becomes cardiovascular disease.