Will Hearing Aids be Beneficial To Your Sleep?

Man with hearing loss sleeping better because he has hearing aids.

Not having enough sleep can have a detrimental 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 unpleasant feeling that takes several cups of coffee to stave off. So when your hearing loss began causing you to have insomnia, you were aghast.

Justifiably so. But there’s a little something that can help, thankfully: a hearing aid. It’s feasible that these small devices can help you get a better night sleep, according to the latest surveys.

How is Sleep Affected by Loss of Hearing?

In recent days, you’ve noticed yourself counting sheep more than normal, dealing with fatigue all day no matter how much sleep you get, and then having a hard time falling asleep at night (despite your exhaustion). All of these issues began about the same time you also began to notice that your mobile phone, radio, and television were becoming hard to hear.

It’s not your imagination as it turns out. There is a well-documented relationship between loss of hearing and insomnia, even if the exact sources aren’t precisely clear. There are, of course, a handful of theories:

  • Loss of hearing is related to depression, and your sleep cycle can be interrupted by chemical imbalances as a result of depression. This makes it more difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep.
  • Your brain, when you have hearing loss, strains to get input where there isn’t any. Your entire cycle could be thrown off if your brain is working overtime attempting to hear (it’s that “my brain won’t shut off” issue).
  • Tinnitus can make you hear thumping, humming, and ringing and that noise can cause you to lose sleep. (It can become a vicious cycle because lack of sleep can make your tinnitus symptoms worse).

Can Hearing Aids Improve Your Sleep?

According to one study, 44% of individuals with loss of hearing who don’t wear hearing aids documented 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 quite. If you don’t have hearing loss, a hearing aid can’t cure insomnia.

But if you suffer from hearing loss related insomnia, hearing aids could help in numerous crucial ways:

  • Strain: Your hearing aids will effectively lessen the strain on your brain. And your brain will be less likely to strain while falling asleep if it isn’t straining all of the rest of the time.
  • Tinnitus: Hearing aids might be a practical treatment for that ringing or buzzing, depending on the nature of your tinnitus. This can assist you to get some sleep by short circuiting that vicious cycle.
  • Isolation: Your not so likely to feel depressed and isolated if you can connect with people in your social circle when you’re out on the town. Hearing aids make building relationships smoother (sleep cycle issues that result in “cabin fever” can also be reduced).

Achieving a Better Quality Sleep Using Hearing Aids

It isn’t just the number of hours that’s significant here. How deep you sleep is as relevant as the number of hours. Hearing aids can increase your ability to attain a restful nights sleep because hearing loss without hearing aids can reduce deep sleep.

Wearing your hearing aids on the recommended daytime schedule will benefit your sleep but it’s important to mention that hearing aids aren’t generally intended to be worn while you sleep. They aren’t going to help you hear better when you’re in bed (for instance, you won’t hear your alarm clock better). And, after a while, wearing your hearing aids at night can diminish their effectiveness. You get deeper sleep if you use them during the day.

Go to Bed!

Getting a restful night’s sleep is a precious thing. Your stress level, your immune system, and your ability to think clearly will all be helped by sufficient sleep. A decreased risk of diabetes and heart disease have also been linked to healthy sleep habits.

When your sleep schedule is disrupted by your hearing loss, it’s not only a small irritation, insomnia can often cause serious health problems. Thankfully, most surveys document that people who use hearing aids have better quality of sleep.

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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