Many factors may make a person more prone to hearing loss, including age, noise exposure and genetics, to name a few.
Alcohol can have a negative effect on hearing health as well. While the occasional cocktail at Tap and Pour shouldn’t cause a problem, heavy alcohol use can damage your ears and lead to hearing loss.
Alcohol and “Cocktail Deafness”
Consuming alcohol affects the way you process sounds. A 2007 study of 30 young adults found that alcohol led to temporary problems understanding lower-frequency sounds.
While the participants’ hearing returned to normal once they stopped drinking, researchers stressed that frequent alcohol-induced hearing loss could lead to more permanent damage.
How Too Much Alcohol Can Lead to Hearing Loss
Too much alcohol can damage the hair cells of the inner ear. These cells play a pivotal role in the hearing process. Once they are damaged, they cannot be repaired. Too much damage will lead to hearing loss.
Excessive alcohol consumption may also damage the auditory cortex in your brain. Damage to this area may affect your ability to detect changes in pitch, locate where sounds are coming from, or understand speech.
Heavy Drinking May Cause Tinnitus and Dizziness
Anyone who has had a night of too much drinking knows the feeling of waking up unsteady the next day. This happens because alcohol can affect the volume of fluid in your inner ear.
This can cause temporary dizziness, balance issues and even tinnitus (ringing in the ears). While these symptoms usually go away on their own, they can be unpleasant side effects that are well worth avoiding.
How to Protect Your Ears from Alcohol Damage
If you don’t want alcohol to damage your ears, the best thing to do is to make sure that if you do drink, you do so moderately. The CDC classifies moderate drinking as “two drinks or less in a day for men and one drink or less in a day for women.”
It’s also important to be mindful of loud noise exposure when drinking. Many places where alcohol is served, such as bars or concerts, may play music loud enough to damage your ears. Consider custom hearing protection devices the next time you know you’ll be in a loud environment.
If you’re concerned about hearing loss, make an appointment at The ENT Center of Central Georgia for a hearing test as soon as possible. The sooner you get treatment, the more likely it is that you can protect your ears from further damage.
