Hearing loss is an incredibly complex health condition, and it can be connected to a surprising number of things. Some things that can cause hearing loss that may surprise you include stress, viruses and allergies. Let’s discuss these three, as we’re in the middle of flu season and the beginning of allergy season is coming up quickly.
How Hearing Works
Before we dive into the connection between stress, viruses and allergies, let’s discuss how hearing works to establish the basics. Sound waves enter the outer ear, travel through the ear canal, and hit the eardrum. The eardrum’s vibrations send the sound waves into the middle ear, where tiny bones (called the ossicles) amplify and funnel those sound waves into the inner ear, where an organ called the cochlea encodes the sound waves into electric signals. These electrical signals are then carried to the brain via the auditory nerve, where they are processed into the sound we hear.
Stress and Hearing
Stress is your body’s reaction to situations in your environment, known as the “fight or flight” response. To trigger this, the body releases a hormone called adrenaline. Your heart rate will rise, as will your blood pressure; you’ll breathe faster; you will become temporarily stronger, as your muscles are getting an influx of highly oxygenated blood; you’ll experience a decreased sensitivity to or awareness of pain; and you’ll feel focused and energized. If you are constantly stressed, however, this can cause some significant health problems, including insomnia, panic attacks, high blood pressure and heart disease.
Stress is also connected to hearing loss and tinnitus. When blood pressure rises and blood flow changes, the tiny sensory cells in the cochlea that are responsible for encoding those electrical signals may be affected. These cells need a healthy supply of oxygenated blood to function, so when that blood is diverted to your muscles or when high blood pressure constricts circulation to the cochlea, it can damage and destroy these cells, resulting in permanent hearing loss or ringing in the ears.
Viruses and Hearing
Viruses are common in the winter, with the common cold, COVID and the flu making the rounds. According to the American Lung Association, the 2024–2025 flu season was the most severe flu season since 2010. You might be surprised to learn that viral illnesses such as these are connected to hearing loss.
How viruses cause hearing loss is still being studied, and it also depends on the virus. Some possible complications of viruses or viral infections that can lead to hearing loss include:
- Middle ear infection, which can cause the middle ear to fill with fluid and inhibit the pathway of sound waves to the inner ear
- Upper respiratory infection, which can cause inflammation in the sinuses or throat, which may swell and impede the ear canal or disturb the cochlea
- Autoimmune disorders, in which your immune system attacks healthy body tissue, such as the cells in the ear, instead of the foreign invaders
- Direct damage to the auditory nerve, which can happen if the infection reaches the nervous system
- Medication. This method is more indirect, but some medications—both over-the-counter and prescription—are known to be toxic to the tissues in the ear
Some viruses associated with hearing loss in this manner include measles, mumps, West Nile Virus, Varicella Zoster Virus (VZV), and “long COVID.”
Other viruses have the potential to cause congenital hearing loss, or hearing loss present at birth, if a pregnant person contracts the virus. Some of these viruses include Rubella, Cytomegalovirus (CMV), HSV types 1 and 2 and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
Allergies and Hearing
Allergic reactions happen when you come in contact with a generally harmless substance, such as pollen or pet dander, but your body mistakes the substance for a threat and deploys an immune system response to destroy it. It releases chemicals called histamines into the bloodstream, which control swelling, inflammation, itchiness and excess mucus production. These functions are designed to capture, neutralize and remove the substance.
While these functions are usually most noticeable in the nasal passages—itchy nose, sneezing and runny nose, for example—they can also affect the ear, producing symptoms such as itchiness, pressure or fullness in the ear, infections, dizziness, ringing in the ears and hearing loss. Inflammation of the ear canal can prevent sound from entering the ear, leading to temporary hearing loss. The Eustachian tubes, which connect the middle ear to the throat and help equalize pressure in the ears, may also become inflamed or infected due to excess mucus buildup. Also, like a viral infection, allergies can cause ear infections.
Learn the Signs of Hearing Loss and Seek Treatment Early
If you’ve noticed you are struggling to hear, you are not alone. According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), approximately 15% of Americans aged 18 and older experience some form of hearing difficulty. Some symptoms include:
- Difficulty understanding conversations, especially in noisy environments
- Frequently asking others to repeat themselves
- Sounds seem muffled
- Turning the volume up higher than you used to
- Tinnitus
If you notice any of these, seek timely intervention and schedule a hearing test. Treatment for hearing loss depends on the type and severity of the condition. Additionally, in the case of stress, viruses and allergies, you may be able to restore some of your hearing by successfully treating the cause. Stress management techniques, vaccinations, antiviral therapy, allergy treatments and other methods of treating these three causes may reverse some of the damage done.
To schedule a hearing test with Albany ENT & Allergy Services, call us today to make an appointment. At your hearing examination, we’ll discuss your medical history and lifestyle to determine the cause of your hearing loss.