Says the Better Hearing Institute in Recognition of American Heart Month and National Wear Red Day®
St. Petersburg Audiologist, Dr. Susan Terry, of Broadwater Hearing Care shares this important information about Heart Health and Hearing with Saint Petersburg – Help Your Heart, Get a Hearing Test.
Keeping track of your hearing by getting a hearing test may help you monitor your cardiovascular health, says the Better Hearing Institute (BHI), which is raising awareness of the link between cardiovascular and hearing health in recognition of American Heart Month in February and National Wear Red Day® on February 6.
Press Release in Tampa Bay Newswire: http://www.tampabaynewswire.com/2015/02/06/getting-a-hearing-test-just-may-help-your-heart-32307
New research out of the University of Wisconsin in Madison has reconfirmed the link between hearing and cardiovascular health, suggesting that hearing loss may be an early sign of cardiovascular disease in seemingly healthy middle-aged people. The study also showed that hearing loss is common in people in their forties. (http://ow.ly/HOOQw; http://ow.ly/HRnt4)
This research is in line with the earlier findings of David R. Friedland, MD, PhD, Professor and Vice-Chair of Otolaryngology and Communication Sciences at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, who explains the cardiovascular-hearing health link:
“The inner ear is so sensitive to blood flow that it is possible that abnormalities in the cardiovascular system could be noted here earlier than in other less sensitive parts of the body.”
In Dr. Friedland’s own 2009 study, published in The Laryngoscope, he and fellow researchers found that audiogram pattern correlates strongly with cerebrovascular and peripheral arterial disease and may represent a screening test for those at risk. They even concluded that patients with low-frequency hearing loss should be regarded as at risk for cardiovascular events, and appropriate referrals should be considered. (http://ow.ly/HOWDY)
About this latest research out of the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Dr. Friedland says, “This study provides a potential mechanism by which blood flow to the ear may be compromised, namely atherosclerosis and plaque formation. It also shows that hearing loss in middle age is more common than many people realize.”
Research not only shows that hearing loss is affiliated with cardiovascular disease, but it’s linked to other chronic illnesses as well, including diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, moderate chronic kidney disease, and depression. And when left untreated, hearing loss adversely affects quality of life, earnings, and physical and emotional well-being.
Luckily, the overwhelming majority of people with hearing loss can benefit from hearing aids, which have advanced dramatically in recent years and are designed to help people keep up with youthful, active lifestyles. When people with even mild hearing loss use today’s modern hearing aids, they often improve their job performance; enhance their communication skills; increase their earnings potential; improve their professional and interpersonal relationships; stave off depression; gain an enhanced sense of control over their lives; and better their quality of life.
For more information, please contact
Dr. Susan Terry at Broadwater Hearing Care, 727-323-2471 or visit www.broadwaterhearingcare.com.