The US. is facing an opioid crisis as you’re likely aware. Overdoses are killing over 130 people daily. There is a connection, which you might not have heard about, between drug and alcohol abuse and hearing loss.
According to new research published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine and carried out by a team at the University of Michigan, there’s a link between those under fifty who suffer from loss of hearing and abuse of alcohol or other substances.
After evaluating around 86,000 participants, they found this link is stronger the younger the person is. What causes the link in the first place, regrettably, is still not well understood.
Here’s what this specific research found:
- People who developed hearing loss over the age of fifty did not differ from their peers when it comes to substance abuse rates.
- People who developed hearing loss when they were the ages of 35-49 were twice as likely to develop general substance abuse problems than their peers.
- People were at least twice as likely to abuse opioids than their peers if they developed hearing loss when they were under the age of fifty. They were also generally more likely to misuse other substances, such as alcohol.
Hope and Solutions
Because researchers have already taken into account economics and class so those numbers are especially staggering. We have to do something about it, though, now that we have identified a relationship. Keep in mind, causation is not correlation so without knowing the exact cause, it will be difficult to directly address the problem. Researchers did have a couple of theories:
- Social solitude: Cognitive decline and social isolation are well known to be associated with hearing loss. In situations like these, it’s common for people to self medicate, and if the person doesn’t understand that hearing loss is an issue or what the cause is, this is especially true.
- Higher blood pressure: It’s also true, of course, That blood pressure is raised by alcohol, sometimes to levels that are unhealthy. And both high blood pressure and some pain killers have been shown to harm your hearing.
- Lack of communication: Emergency medical departments are designed to get people in, deal with them, and process them as efficiently (or, in many cases, quickly) as they can. Sometimes they are in a rush, especially if there’s a life-threatening emergency waiting for them. In cases like this, a patient may not get proper treatment because they can’t hear questions and instructions very well. They might agree to suggestions of pain medication without completely understanding the concerns, or they might mishear dosage directions.
- Medications that are ototoxic: Hearing loss is known to be caused by these medications.
Whether these situations increase hearing loss, or that they are more likely to happen to those with loss of hearing, the damaging consequences to your health are the same.
Preventing Hearing Loss and Substance Abuse
It’s suggested by the authors of the study, that communications protocols be kept up to date by doctors and emergency responders. It would be helpful if doctors were on the lookout for people with loss of hearing, in other words. But it would also help if we as individuals were more mindful of some of the symptoms of hearing loss, too, and got help when we need it.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions of your doctors such as:
- Will I get addicted to this medication? Do I really need it, or is there an alternative medicine available that is safer?
- Is this medication ototoxic? Are there alternatives?
If you are uncertain how a medicine will impact your general health, what the risk are and how they should be taken, you should not take then home.
Additionally, if you think you are suffering from hearing loss, don’t wait to get checked. If you ignore your hearing loss for only two years you will pay 26% more for your health care. Schedule a hearing test right away.