The allergy and pollen season is a stressful time for many, especially when you wear hearing aids or struggle with hearing loss. For those that already experience trouble hearing, congestion can aggravate hearing loss and make it difficult to get through the season. Conductive hearing loss can lead to dizziness, pain, and tinnitus. If you use hearing aids, fluid in the ears can make it painful and difficult to use your hearing aids.
Can allergies cause hearing loss and tinnitus?
Did you know that allergies are directly tied to hearing difficulties, and even temporary hearing loss?
If you’ve ever had an ear infection, or fluid build-up in your ears, you probably understand conductive hearing loss. Conductive hearing loss is when something blocks the path to your eardrum or inner ear. This prevents the vibrations from being processed into sound, causing hearing loss or muffled hearing.
If you wear hearing aids, conductive hearing loss may interfere with how you use these devices. Before the problem can be properly dealt with, you need to determine whether the issue is caused by allergies, or a symptom of a larger issue.
Difference between allergies and hearing loss
You might think that during allergy season it is not necessary to go for a hearing test, but after the season is over and your hearing issue persists, you should consider it.
The only person that can definitely determine the difference between allergies and hearing loss is an audiologist.
We have found that a number of people discover they have permanent hearing loss after visiting us at Strauss Audiology for allergies. It is not the allergies that caused the hearing loss, but they had existing hearing loss and the allergies worsened the issue. If you still struggle to hear after pollen season is over, get a hearing test. You might be surprised by the results.
Dealing with temporary hearing loss
To experience temporary hearing loss is very scary. However, rest assured, most cases of allergy-related hearing loss clear up relatively quickly.
It’s important that you avoid putting things in your ears, which includes earbuds or any other foreign object. As they can worsen the blockage and cause pain or damage. If you use hearing aids, try to use them sparingly, and do not turn up the volume to combat your worsened condition. As the fluid clears or shifts, the high volume can damage your ears further.
Coping with allergies as a hearing aid wearer
Temporary conductive hearing loss can interfere with your hearing aids. As this might be very hard and challenging, try to avoid using your hearing aids for prolonged periods of time during pollen season, as they might worsen any blockages you’re experiencing.
Check your hearing aids for excess earwax. Your hearing aids should be cleaned regularly and double your cleaning routine during allergy season. Otherwise, your hearing aids might become damaged by build-up.
Regardless of whether or not you use hearing aids, you should get your hearing checked after pollen season is over. A hearing test will ensure your congestion or ear infection is clear and check on the overall quality of your hearing. If your hearing has deteriorated over the year, you can catch this change before it begins affecting your daily life.
While allergy season brings misery for nearly everyone, it can be a serious issue for those with sensitive ears, existing hearing loss, or a tendency towards congestion. Luckily, pollen is only an issue for a few months, and you can enjoy unclogged sinuses for the rest of the year.
Having said that, you should make your hearing a priority to get it properly checked out annually by us at Strauss Audiology. A lot can change in a few months, so keep a close eye on how you’re hearing. If something begins to change, or you start struggling to make out certain sounds, schedule a visit with us. We can help to pinpoint the issues before they cause serious problems.
About Strauss Audiology
Strauss Audiology is a professional audiology business in the northern suburbs of Cape Town, offering expert, effective hearing advice that is tailored to clients’ unique hearing needs. We conduct hearing evaluations, hearing tests and vertigo assessments, and provide a range of solutions to improve and protect clients’ hearing. This includes providing hearing aids to Cape Town clients. With 16 years of experience, and with the qualifications and certifications to deliver leading hearing care, you can trust us to take care of your hearing needs.
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