It’s normal to become frustrated and angry from day to day. However, if you don’t learn how to manage these feelings in a healthy way, it can impact your health—including your hearing! While the connection between frustration/anger and hearing loss isn’t exactly direct, research does show that there’s a link. We review what the research shows below.
Impact of Anger on Blood Pressure
There was an older study that established a link between trouble processing emotions such as anger and high blood pressure (BP).
For the study, entitled, “Impact of anger expression on blood pressure levels in white-collar workers with low-coping behavior,” researchers examined data from a cross-sectional study of 790 Japanese male workers ages 20 to 60.
The researchers concluded, “This study suggests that male workers who do not express their anger have a higher probability of developing high BP when they have no or few stress coping behaviors.”
Impact of High Blood Pressure on Hearing
Hypertension is the term that describes high blood pressure. It is extremely common; according to one 2021 study, it affects every one in four individuals.
The same study that provided this statistic called, “Association Between Hypertension and Hearing Loss,” looked at data from 300 patients with documented hypertension between the ages of 21 and 50, as well as data from another 300 participants who did not have hypertension.
The researchers found, “Based on our study, HTN is positively correlated with hearing loss. Therefore, longstanding hypertensive patients should be screened regularly in order to assess the status of their hearing abilities.”
Why the Link?
There are multiple ways high blood pressure harms your body. One of these is that it damages the arteries and causes them to narrow. Because your arteries take oxygen and nutrients to your cells, hypertension means the cells may be deprived of these necessities.
The mechanisms that allow you to hear, particularly the inner ear, are extremely delicate and sensitive to changes in blood flow. If the sensory cells in the cochlea don’t receive enough oxygen, they can become damaged or die. Once dead, they do not regenerate, and the result is permanent sensorineural hearing loss.
The Good News
Fortunately, there are ways to lower your blood pressure. You can:
- Learn mindfulness and meditate
- Take classes at Full Body Fitness & Yoga in Florence
- Read self-help books
- Talk to a counselor
For more information or to schedule an appointment with a hearing expert, call Certified Hearing Aid Consultants today.
[related-posts]