Do you recollect the old tale of Johnny Appleseed? When you were younger you most likely heard the story of how Johnny Appleseed traveled around bringing fresh apples to communities (you should eat apples because they’re good for you and that’s the moral of the story).
That’s only somewhat true. Around the end of the 19th century, Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman was his real name) did in fact bring apples to numerous parts of the United States. But apples were really different hundreds of years ago. They weren’t as sweet or yummy. Producing hard cider, in fact, was the primary use of apples.
Yup, every community that Johnny Appleseed visited was gifted with booze.
Humans have a complex relationship with alcohol. On the one hand, it’s terrible for your health (you will frequently notice some of these health symptoms immediately when you feel hungover). Nevertheless, humans typically enjoy feeling intoxicated.
This isn’t new. Humanity has been imbibing since, well, the dawn of recorded history. But it may be possible that your hearing problems are being increased by drinking alcohol.
Simply put, it isn’t only the loud music at the bar that’s bad for your hearing. It’s the beer, too.
Tinnitus can be caused by alcohol
The fact that alcohol triggers tinnitus is something that hearing specialists will usually confirm. That shouldn’t be too much of a stretch to believe. You’ve probably experienced “the spins” if you’ve ever drank too much. That’s when you get really, really dizzy and the room feels like it’s, well, spinning (particularly with your eyes closed).
The spins will happen because the alcohol is interfering with the part of your body responsible for balance: your inner ear.
And what other role does your inner ear take a part in? Obviously, your hearing. So if alcohol can produce the spins, it’s not hard to believe that it can also generate ringing or buzzing in your ears.
Ototoxic substances, including alcohol, will trigger tinnitus
The word ototoxic may sound scary, but it simply indicates something that can be damaging to your hearing. This includes both the auditory nerves and the inner ear, essentially everything that connects your whole auditory system, from your ears to your brain.
There are several ways that this occurs in practice:
- There are neurotransmitters in your brain that deal with hearing which can be harmed by alcohol. This means that, while the alcohol is in your system, your brain isn’t functioning correctly (both decision making centers, and hearing centers are impacted).
- Alcohol can decrease flow of blood to your inner ear. The lack of blood flow can itself be an origin of damage.
- Alcohol can degrade the stereocilia in your ears (these are little hairs that allow you to sense vibrations in the air, vibrations that your brain later converts into sound). Once those delicate hairs are damaged, there’s no coming back.
Tinnitus and hearing loss due to drinking are often temporary
You might begin to detect some symptoms when you’re out on the town having a few drinks with friends.
These symptoms, fortunately, are usually not permanent when caused by alcohol. As your body chemistry returns to normal, you’ll likely begin to recover some of your hearing and your tinnitus will wane.
But the longer you have alcohol in your system, the longer your symptoms will last. And it may become irreversible if this type of damage keeps happening continually. So if you drink too much too often, permanent damage could possibly occur.
Here are a couple of other things that are taking place
It isn’t just the booze, however. The bar scene is not favorable for your ears for other reasons also.
- Alcohol leads to other issues: Even if you put the hearing loss factor aside, drinking is pretty bad for you. Diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and high blood pressure can be the result of alcohol abuse. And all of these issues can inevitably be life threatening, as well as contribute to more extreme tinnitus symptoms.
- Noise: Bars are typically rather loud. Some of their charm comes from…uh.. just this. But when you’re 40 or more it can be a bit much. There’s noisy music, loud people, and lots of yelling and mary-making. Your hearing can be damaged over time by this.
The point is, there are significant risks to your health and your hearing in these late night bar trips.
Does that mean it’s time to stop drinking?
Naturally, sitting in a quiet room and drinking alone is not at all what we’re recommending. It’s the alcohol, not the socializing, that’s the source of the issue. So if you’re having difficulty moderating your alcohol intake, you could be creating major problems for yourself, and for your hearing. You should speak with your physician about how you can get treatment, and start on the road to being healthy again.
For now, if you drink heavily and you’ve detected a ringing in your ears, it might be time to make an appointment with us to check for tinnitus.