With allergies, you have watery, itchy eyes, sneezing, coughing, and congestion. You might not think about allergies causing hearing loss. Unfortunately, allergies can cause you to have hearing loss. Some people will have more hearing loss than others.
The Cause of Allergies
Allergies occur when the immune system finds an allergen and has a reaction. When the immune system senses allergens, it will send out histamines. This reaction will cause allergy symptoms. Your nasal passages and eyes are not the only part of your body affected by allergies.
Ear Allergy Symptoms
Your ears are vulnerable to allergies. You can deal with many allergy symptoms, including hearing loss. You may also feel fullness or pressure in your ear, tinnitus, ear infections, and dizziness.
Besides hearing loss and other symptoms, some people develop skin allergies. These allergens will develop on the outer ear. The inflammation in the outer ear may cause temporary hearing loss. As soon as you get hearing care for the outer ear allergy, the hearing loss will go away. Continued exposure to the allergens can cause a recurrence of the condition.
Middle ear allergies will cause fluid to build up in your Eustachian tube. The Eustachian tube equalizes the pressure in your ears. When allergies affect this area, you might have to deal with an ear infection. If you do not get the proper hearing care for your ear infection, you could end up having permanent hearing loss. If you have permanent hearing loss, you may need a hearing aid to help combat the hearing loss.
Allergies can also affect the inner ear. Meniere’s disease is a disease of the inner ear that causes tinnitus and hearing loss. Allergies can affect this and worsen any hearing loss you may have. If you have Meniere’s disease, get hearing care if allergens are causing your symptoms. Early treatment for the allergens will help to prevent further hearing loss.
Allergies and Hearing Aids
If you wear hearing aids for hearing loss, take special care during allergy season. Your allergies can affect your hearing aid. This is due to the allergens getting down into the hearing aid itself. The hearing aid can also help to trap fluid in your ear. This could cause your hearing aid not to work. It could also cause you to suffer from further hearing loss. Instead of dealing with hearing loss, clean your hearing aid often. It removes allergens to make sure that your hearing is normal and that no hearing loss occurs.
CALL US TODAY
To protect yourself from allergies, you will want to find out what your allergies are. Your doctor can determine your allergies and treat them before you have any hearing loss. Do you have a hearing aid and want to make sure that you are doing everything you can to reduce hearing loss? To make sure that your hearing aid is functional, call us at Atkins Hearing Center. Our hearing care team is here for you. We want to make sure that you can hear well. We will make sure that your allergies do not affect you hearing aid or make your hearing loss worse. Our hearing care specialists will sit down with you and show you how to clean your hearing aid. You do not have to worry about your hearing aid not working right or having hearing loss.
