Hearing loss is one of the most common, chronic health conditions that people experience. Nearly 1 in 8 people have some degree of impaired hearing in the U.S. which impacts over 40 million people. Hearing loss can be caused by a variety of factors including: aging, existing medical conditions (heart disease, diabetes, hypertension etc.), environmental exposure to loud noise, and genetic history.
In addition to these, an often-overlooked cause of hearing loss is head injuries. Head injuries are common injuries that millions of people experience every year. Resulting of contact sports, car and/or bike accidents, or falling, head trauma can lead to significant damage, including hearing loss.
Head Injuries: Common Causes & Impact
Head injuries, including closed head injuries, are caused by trauma – resulting from a blow, jolt, or object – to the head and can range from mild to severe. Mild traumatic brain injury often results from a violent impact on the head or body, leading to temporary effects on brain cells. The most common type is concussions, which are milder forms of head injuries. Moderate to severe head injuries result in what is referred to as traumatic brain injury, which can have profound effects, including significant changes in consciousness and awareness. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention*(CDC),* there are nearly 3 million head injuries every year, and a third are traumatic brain injuries. The most common causes of head injuries are:
- Falls
- Car accidents
- Impact of being struck by an object
Head injuries can produce temporary and permanent effects that impact overall health, including:
- Dizziness and vertigo
- Tinnitus is a buzzing or ringing-like noise in one or both ears
- Chronic nausea and/or migraines
- Difficulty hearing sound, especially in environments with background noise
- Inability to locate where sounds are coming from
These could be underlying traumatic brain injury symptoms, indicating more severe issues, including hearing loss, a permanent health condition that reduces a person’s ability to process sound.
Head Injuries & Hearing Loss
The sudden and extreme force on the head results in such harsh movement that it can bruise, swell, or cause localized bleeding in the brain tissue (brain hemorrhage). Minor head injuries, though often unreported, can also lead to unnoticed complications such as hearing loss. Severe traumatic brain injury can significantly damage a number of parts critical for the auditory system – the process and way we hear. Skull fractures, which are breaks in the cranial bones typically caused by strong impacts, also need accurate medical assessment and imaging. This includes:
- Outer Ear: the most visible part of the Ear, ear canal, and ear drum.
- Middle Ear: ossicles, which are three small connected bones
- Inner Ear: cochlea, filled with fluid and thousands of hair cells
The outer Ear absorbs sound from the environment, which travels down the ear canal and lands on the eardrum. This triggers the ossicles, which help push the soundwaves further into the inner Ear, where they are translated (by the hair cells) into electrical signals for the brain to process and make meaning of.
Head injuries can damage any one of these critical parts including: rupture the eardrum, damage the ossicles and/or hair cells, restrict blood flow, obstruct auditory pathways etc. This disrupts the process of absorbing and processing soundwaves which results in the reduced capacity to understand sound.
Protecting Your Hearing Health
If you have experienced a traumatic injury, it is critical that you have your hearing assessed. Hearing tests, even if you haven’t had a head injury and for people of all ages, should be incorporated into routine health check-ins.
Facilitated by a hearing health specialist, hearing tests involve a noninvasive and painless process that measures hearing ability in both ears. This identifies any impairment, the degree, and the specific type of hearing loss you may be experiencing. Hearing tests also establish your hearing needs and allow your hearing healthcare provider to assess the best treatment options for you.
There are various ways hearing loss is treated, the most common treatment is hearing aids which are electronic devices that absorb and process sound. These small, and complex devices increase hearing ability and allow people to navigate all types of environments and social settings with greater ease.
In addition to hearing tests, there are other ways you can be proactive about your hearing health, including:
- Wear protective gear when playing contact sports, riding a bike, driving, etc.
- Wear hearing aids which allow you to hear warning signs in your environment – sirens, honks, objects coming your way, others yelling etc.
Practicing these simple safety measures can reduce your risk of head injuries and harming your hearing health!
Enticare
At Enticare, our ear, nose, and throat doctors provide treatment for diseases of the ears, nose, and throat in children and adults through surgical and non-surgical techniques. Our team can help if you’ve been struggling with hearing issues.