Hearing Loss and Sleep
By: Amanda Womac
Published February 15, 2011

Although 1 in 10 individuals in the United States have varying degrees of hearing loss, it remains one of the most commonly unaddressed health conditions in America. When left untreated, it can lead to isolation, depression and other emotional conditions that can affect both mental health and quality of life.

People with mild hearing loss begin to experience increased levels of isolation in social situations, the workplace and at home. As the world fades to a muffle, those with more severe degrees of hearing loss experience even greater degrees of isolation.

Once-engaged individuals withdraw. The stigma of hearing loss and the choice to not use hearing aids prevents these social people from getting out, seeing friends or even enjoying a nice dinner.

The psychological effects of hearing loss are not limited to the person experiencing the loss. The effects of that individual’s hearing loss spread to all members of the household, to friends and co-workers.

In addition to these social affects, hearing loss can also lead to sleep problems. According to a study published in the January issue of Sleep, work-related hearing loss may lead to decreased quality of sleep.

Israeli researchers gave hearing tests to 298 male employees at a workplace where they were expose  d to harmful noise and found that 99 of the workers had a hearing impairment and 199 had normal hearing. Those with hearing problems tended to be older and to have been exposed to workplace noise for a longer time.

The condition known as tinnitus, which is a continual ringing in the ears, was noted in 51 percent of those with hearing loss and 14 percent of those with normal hearing.

Although tinnitus was reported as the main sleep disrupting factor, hearing impairment among workers exposed to harmful noise contributed to sleep impairment, especially to insomnia, regardless of age and years of exposure.

The researchers explored various elements of sleep including difficulty falling asleep; waking too early or during the night; excessive daytime sleepiness or falling asleep during daytime; snoring; and excessive sleep movement.

Do you experience hearing loss? Do you spend more and more time "inside" yourself and less and less time engaging life – the external world?

Take this quick quiz to see if you experience hearing loss:

1. Do you avoid talking on the phone? Let the machine get it?
2. Have you had trouble hearing in large, open spaces?
3. Do you have trouble hearing in loud restaurants? Do you avoid eating out as a result?
4. Do others complain about the loudness of the TV?
5. Do you have trouble hearing co-workers on the job?
6. Do you still enjoy music the way you once did?
7. Do you miss the sounds of life, from birds in the trees to a soft whisper from a loved one?
8. Do you become more depressed when hearing loss causes a "problem?"
9. Do you think there's a stigma associated with wearing hearing aids?
10. Are hearing aids associated with your self-image and self-esteem?

If you answered yes to any of these, you can make things better – and soon. But the first step is yours; the ball is in your court. If you or a loved one live with untreated hearing loss, call a hearing loss professional – an audiologist or hearing aid practitioner – and eliminate a common source of stress and depression. You don't have to live with hearing loss anymore.

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