Why does hearing loss cause people to fall?
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Why does hearing loss cause people to fall?
If you have poor hearing, your sense of direction and positioning ability will be poor, and your sense of balance will also be poor. Because the inner ear is mainly responsible for sensing sound and balance, hearing loss is generally caused by problems with the hair cells in the inner ear. Therefore, it is recommended that people with hearing loss should intervene as early as possible and be fitted with Hearing Aids as soon as possible. Binaural fitting can increase positioning capabilities. , and pay attention to strength and flexibility training in daily life.
Research from Johns Hopkins University in the United States shows that even with mild hearing loss, the risk of falling is three times that of people with normal hearing. The study also found that for every 10dB increase in hearing loss, the chance of falling increased by 1.4 times. This may be because older adults with hearing loss are less aware of their environment and have more difficulty maintaining balance, so the chance of tripping and falling is greatly increased.
In the United States, injuries and deaths caused by falls in the elderly cost billions in medical expenses every year. To determine whether hearing loss and hearing loss are related, Frank Lin, MD, of Johns Hopkins University, looked at data from 2001 to 2012 and the 2004 cycle of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a study that has been conducted regularly since 1971. Collected health data on thousands of Americans.Over the years, Dr. Frank Lin conducted hearing tests on 2,017 subjects aged 40 to 69, and counted whether they had fallen in the past year. The researchers also collected demographic information, including age, gender and race, and examined the subjects' vestibular function to assess the extent of their balance abilities.
Research has found that people with mild hearing loss are nearly three times more likely to fall. For every 10 decibels increase in hearing loss, the odds of falling risk increase by 1.4 times. This finding held even when the researchers excluded factors including age, sex, race, cardiovascular disease and vestibular function.
Dr. Lin added that people who cannot hear clearly may not have a good understanding of their overall environment, which makes it difficult for them toCollapse and falls are more likely. Meanwhile, another reason why hearing loss may increase the risk of falls is cognitive load, where the brain is overwhelmed by the demands on limited resources.
“Gait and balance are things that most people take for granted, but they are actually very cognitively demanding,” Lin said. “If hearing loss increases the cognitive load, it may be reduced. Cognitive resources to help maintain balance and gait.”
If you have hearing loss, intervene proactively to prevent hearing loss from further harming your health.