If
we listen to our bodies, they will often tell us of an imminent malady. So what
do I mean by “Can my ears talk to me?” What I mean is when you have ear pain or
just simple discomfort, do you stop and consider what that means to your
overall health?
Did
you know that an earache can be an early warning sign of heart disease? I bet
you didn’t! And you would be in the majority. Most people don’t know that.
Most
common in heart disease is the restriction of blood flow through arteries and
vessels because of plaque buildup (commonly called atherosclerosis). The inner
ear is EXTREMELY sensitive to blood flow and thus issues with hearing loss.
Professor and Vice Chair of Otolaryngology and
Communication Sciences David R. Friedland, M.D., Ph.D. explains, “The inner ear
is so sensitive to blood flow that it is possible that abnormalities in the
cardiovascular system could be noted here earlier than in other less sensitive
parts of the body.”
In fact,
a study conducted by Harvard University cited a staggering relation between
heart disease and hearing loss finding “hearing loss occurred 54% more often in
people with heart disease then in the general population.”
February is American Heart Month. With an average of 787,000 heart disease related deaths (that’s
1 in 3) annually in our region of the country, it is most definitely worth the
time to have it checked out.
So do yourself a favor and have your heart AND
your hearing checked in 2017.
