Remember the old tale of Johnny Appleseed? In elementary school, you might have been taught that he migrated across the United States, bringing the gift of nourishing apples to every community he visited (the moral of the story is that apples are healthy, and you should eat them).
Actually, that’s not the entire truth. Around the end of the 19th century, Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman was his birth name) did in fact bring apples to many parts of the United States. But apples were really different hundreds of years ago. They weren’t as sweet or yummy. Making hard cider, in fact, was the chief use of apples.
That’s right. Johnny Appleseed was providing booze to every neighborhood he visited.
Humans have a complicated relationship with alcohol. On the one hand, it’s terrible for your health (you will frequently notice some of these health problems immediately when you feel hungover). On the other hand, humans generally like feeling inebriated.
This is not a new thing. Humanity has been drinking since, well, the beginning of recorded time. But it could be possible that your hearing problems are being exacerbated by drinking alcohol.
In other words, it’s not just the loud music at the bar that’s bad for your hearing. It’s the beer, also.
Drinking triggers tinnitus
Most hearing specialists will agree that drinking can trigger tinnitus. That’s not really that hard to accept. You’ve most likely experienced “the spins” if you’ve ever drank too much. When you’re dizzy and the room feels like it’s spinning after drinking this is what’s known as “the spins”.
When alcohol disturbs your inner ear, which is the part of your body responsible for balance, you may experience the”spins”.
And what else is your inner ear good for? Obviously, your hearing. Which means that if you’ve had the spins, it’s not surprising that you might have also experienced a buzzing or ringing in your ears that are characteristic of tinnitus.
That’s because alcohol is an ototoxic substance
Now there’s an intimidating word: ototoxic. But it’s really just a fancy word for something that damages the auditory system. The entire auditory system from your ears to your brain is involved in this.
Here are a number of ways this can play out:
- Alcohol can affect the neurotransmitters in your brain that are responsible for hearing. This means that, while the alcohol is in your system, your brain isn’t functioning correctly (both decision making centers, and hearing centers are affected).
- Alcohol can degrade the stereocilia in your ears (these delicate hairs in your ears transmit vibrational information to your brain for additional processing). These delicate hairs will never heal or grow back once they have been compromised.
- The blood flow in your ear can also be reduced by alcohol. This in itself can become a source of damage (most regions of your body don’t particularly like being starved of blood).
Tinnitus and hearing loss caused by drinking are often temporary
You may begin to notice some symptoms when you’re out on the town having some drinks with friends.
These symptoms, thankfully, are usually not lasting when related to alcohol. Your tinnitus will usually go away along with most of your hearing loss when your body chemistry returns to normal.
Of course, the longer alcohol is in your system, the longer it will take your ears to go back to normal. And if this type of damage is repeated consistently, it may become permanent. So if you drink too much too often, permanent damage could possibly take place.
Here are a couple of other things that are happening
It’s not just the alcohol, of course. The bar scene is not hospitable for your ears for other reasons as well.
- Alcohol leads to other problems: Drinking is also detrimental to other facets of your health. Alcohol abuse can result in health problems like high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. And all of these problems can ultimately be life threatening, as well as worsen more significant tinnitus symptoms.
- Noise: Bars are usually rather noisy. That’s part of their… uh… charm? But when you’re 40 or older it can be a bit too much. There’s much fun and merriment, people talking, and loud music. Your hearing can be damaged over time by this.
Simply put, the mix of the environment and the alcohol make those late night bar visits a powerful (and risky) mix for your ears.
Does that mean it’s time to quit drinking?
Obviously, we’re not saying that drinking by yourself in a quiet room is the answer here. It’s the alcohol, not the socializing, that’s the source of the problem. So if you’re having trouble moderating your drinking, you could be causing major problems for yourself, and for your hearing. You should talk to your physician about how you can seek treatment, and start on the road to being healthy again.
If you’ve detected a loud ringing in your ears after heavy drinking, schedule an appointment with us for a consultation.