Not having enough sleep can have a negative effect on your health and vitality. If you don’t get a full, relaxing seven to eight hours of sleep, you get up cranky and groggy, an undesirable feeling that takes several cups of coffee to stave off. So you were aghast when your hearing loss started to cause you to lose sleep.
Justifiably so. But there’s a little something that can be of assistance, luckily: a hearing aid. Based on the latest surveys and research, these little devices can most likely help you sleep sounder.
How Does Loss of Hearing Affect Sleep?
Even though you feel tired all day and are exhausted by bedtime, you still toss and turn and have a hard time falling asleep. All of these issues began about the same time you also began to notice that your radio, television, and mobile phone were becoming hard to hear.
Turns out, you’re not imagining it. It’s well documented that people who have loss of hearing frequently have a hard time falling asleep, but precisely why is not well recognized. There are, naturally, a couple of theories:
- As you develop hearing loss, your brain starts straining, it’s looking for inputs from your ears where there isn’t. Your whole cycle could be thrown off if your brain is working overtime attempting to hear (It’s the common problem of not being able to get the brain to turn off).
- You can lose sleep because of tinnitus which can cause humming, ringing, or thumping sounds in your ears. (Lack of sleep can also make your tinnitus worse, which then can cause stronger insomnia, it’s a vicious cycle).
- Loss of hearing is connected to depression, and depression can lead to chemical imbalances in the brain that disrupt your sleep cycle. As a result of this, falling asleep and staying asleep becomes harder.
Can Hearing Aids Help Your Sleep?
According to one study, 44% of individuals with hearing loss who don’t wear hearing aids reported being satisfied with their sleep in comparison to 59% sleep satisfaction from those who did use a hearing aid. So are hearing aids a sleep aid or what?
well, not really. If you don’t have hearing loss, a hearing aid can’t cure insomnia.
But if you are suffering from loss of hearing, your hearing aids can target several problems that may be worsening your insomnia:
- Isolation: Your less likely to feel isolated and depressed if you can hook up with people in your social group when you’re out and about. Relationships are easier with hearing aids (sleep cycle problems that result in “cabin fever” can also be decreased).
- Tinnitus: Dependent on the cause and nature of your tinnitus, hearing aids could provide a reliable way of managing that ringing and buzzing. This can help you get some sleep by stopping that vicious cycle.
- Strain: The burden on your brain will effectively diminished by using hearing aids. And your brain will be less likely to strain while falling asleep if it isn’t straining all of the rest of the time.
Using Hearing Aids to Achieve a Better Quality Sleep
It’s not just the number of hours that’s important here. In order for your sleep to be actually refreshing, you need to achieve a certain level to your z’s. Loss of hearing can reduce that deep sleep, and hearing aids, therefore, can enhance your ability to get restful sleep.
Wearing your hearing aids on the recommended daytime schedule will enhance your sleep but it’s worthwhile to mention that hearing aids aren’t generally intended to be worn at night. They aren’t going to help you hear better when you’re sleeping (for example, you won’t hear your alarm clock better). And your hearing aids can actually wear out quicker if you use them during the night. You get deeper sleep if you use them during the day.
Go to Bed!
Getting a restful night’s sleep is a valuable thing. Your immune system, your stress levels, and your ability to think clearly will all be benefited by ample sleep. A reduced risk of heart disease and diabetes have also been connected to balanced sleep habits.
When your hearing loss begins to affect your sleep schedule, it’s not just a small irritation, insomnia can frequently become a real health issue. Thankfully, people report having better quality sleep with hearing aids.