Hearing Loss and Sleep

Dr. Dan JensenHearing Loss, Sleep

A woman sleeping next to her dog
Dr. Dan Jensen

Do you struggle to get a good night’s sleep? Do you wake up repeatedly in the night, or have a hard time falling asleep? Your sleep could be affected by your ears, and poor sleep could also affect your hearing. For the nearly 40 million Americans living with hearing loss, the interaction between sleep and hearing loss is complex, and your hearing loss could be affecting your quality of sleep more than you realize.

The Importance of Sleep

Do you have insomnia, or struggle to get a good night’s rest? Sleep is incredibly important for your overall health and wellbeing, and if you’ve had a week of poor sleep, you’ll start to experience a lot of negative health outcomes. You may struggle with irritability and moodiness, and have difficulty focusing on tasks and remaining alert. You’ll feel fatigued, and risk health complications such as heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and even diabetes.

Hearing Loss and Sleep

One factor that affects the quality of your sleep is hearing loss. Those with hearing loss are far more prone to suffer from tinnitus and insomnia, and don’t sleep as well as their hearing peers. They wake up more often in the night, and don’t spend as much time in delta sleep as they need to. This slow wave, or deep sleep stage helps you feel rested in the morning, and those who don’t spend enough time in delta sleep will feel more tired during the day, even if they spent 8 or 9 hours in sleep. Delta sleep also helps you consolidate memories during the night, and is part of mood regulation. Those with hearing loss are also at higher risk of developing depression, and mood disorders have a negative effect on sleep.

Tinnitus

Another factor when it comes to hearing loss and sleep is tinnitus. That annoying ringing, buzzing, whining, or hissing in your ears is heard in the absence of other sounds, and the quietest time of your day is in the evening as you’re trying to fall asleep. 50 million Americans suffer from tinnitus, and it can keep you up at night. Tinnitus symptoms get worse if you’re not sleeping, and as the sounds get more intrusive, you’ll sleep even worse, and this fatigue can lead to depression and anxiety, making it even harder to sleep. To get a good night’s sleep you need to break this cycle, and treating tinnitus can help you sleep at night. You can get a white noise machine for your room, or try a fan, as these will block tinnitus sounds and help you sleep.

Treating Hearing Loss

If your hearing loss has made it hard for you to sleep, it’s time to treat your hearing loss. Hearing aids are small and comfortable, and could do wonders for your sleep. Modern hearing technology has tinnitus therapy programs that will help you fall asleep, and minimize hearing-loss related sleep problems. Tinnitus will fade into the masking sounds, you’ll be able to sleep easier, and your experience of tinnitus during the day will be reduced.

Sleep Hygiene

To help you sleep at night, evaluate your sleep hygiene. Keep electronics out of the bedroom, use a nighttime filter on your phone, avoid caffeine and alcohol before bed, get darkening curtains, and make sure your bed and bedding are helping you sleep. Try to go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day to develop a routine your body can follow. Consider lowering the temperature of your room by a few degrees because it’s easier to sleep in slightly cooler temperatures.

Sound Sleep Medical

If you’re struggling to get a good night’s sleep, call us at Sound Sleep Medical. Our team of specialists will help you pinpoint the problems with your sleep, develop good sleep hygiene, and find ways to help you get the rest you deserve. We’ll ask questions to determine if there are any other health concerns, such as hearing loss or tinnitus, that could be keeping you up at night, and we’ll look at your sleep to see if you’ve been struggling with any sleep disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea that need to be treated as soon as possible to allow you to sleep.

Don’t settle for poor sleep, but visit us today to get a good night’s sleep every night.