Woman scratching at psoriasis not realizing it can lead to hearing loss.

The word psoriasis normally recalls images of people with skin trouble like the people on all those commercials. Psoriasis is more than skin issues and truly impacts your general health. Psoriasis is often misunderstood and minimized, due to a lack of knowledge of how psoriasis impacts sufferers as well as the serious conditions that can be related to this disorder. Psoriasis causes reactions throughout the whole body despite the fact that skin plaques are the most recognizable symptom: Chronic Irritation that can raise the danger of metabolic problems and cardiovascular disease.

New research strengthens the body of research connecting another serious problem to psoriasis: Hearing loss. Published in The Journal of Rheumatology, The relationship between hearing impairment, mental health, and psoriatic arthritis were evaluated in this study. Psoriatic arthritis is a form of psoriasis where inflammation is concentrated around the joints, causing discomfort, swelling, and difficulty with movement. The normal plaques may not be experienced by people who have psoriatic arthritis.

With psoriatic arthritis, the body is basically attacking its own healthy tissue in the same way that it does with rheumatoid arthritis because they are all autoimmune illnesses. But unlike rheumatoid arthritis, you could have psoriatic arthritis on only one knee because it’s asymmetrical, and that besides joints, it commonly targets sufferer’s nails (resulting in painfully swollen fingers and toes) and eyes.

Based on the findings of this recent study, hearing could also be affected by psoriatic arthritis. A significant control group of individuals with neither psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis were contrasted against people who had one or the other condition. They discovered that hearing impairment was more likely to be documented by the group that had psoriasis, and those reports were supported by audiometric screening. Even when controlling for other risk considerations, psoriatic arthritis sufferers were significantly more likely to suffer from hearing loss than either {the control group or psoriasis sufferers}.

But that’s not to say there’s no connection between psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis and loss of hearing. A 2015 study found that people who have been diagnosed with psoriasis are at a substantially higher danger of developing sudden sensorineural loss of hearing, otherwise known as sudden deafness. With sudden sensorineural hearing loss, sufferer’s ability to hear decreases substantially in three days or less. There are numerous potential causes for this, but experts hypothesize that individuals who have psoriasis are at higher risk because of the type of rapid inflammation that happens during a flare-up of psoriasis symptoms. If this occurs in or around the cochlea, it might impair hearing. This kind of hearing loss, in certain instances, can be helped by treatments that alleviate psoriasis., but hearing aids are often recommended when sudden deafness does not react to other treatments.

If you suffer from psoriatic arthritis or psoriasis, it’s essential to monitor your hearing. Schedule your yearly healthcare appointment along with normal hearing exams. Disease related to inflammation can lead to injury of the inner ear, which can lead to hearing loss as well as troubles with balance. Psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis are both also linked to depression and anxiety, both of which can be further aggravated by loss of hearing. Loss of hearing is something you want to detect early because untreated loss of hearing can result in other health concerns like dementia.

Awareness is key, and cooperating with your doctors and regularly having your hearing examined can assist you in keeping in front of symptoms with timely intervention. Neither hearing loss nor psoriasis should cause you to sacrifice your quality of life, and all the difference is having the proper team on your side.

The site information is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. To receive personalized advice or treatment, schedule an appointment.
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