Regular cardiovascular exercise has many benefits, including lowering blood pressure, regulating blood sugar, reducing asthma symptoms, reducing chronic pain, aiding sleep, regulating weight, strengthening the immune system, boosting your mood and improving cognitive performance. But that’s not all it’s good for. Many are surprised to learn that regular cardio can help preserve your hearing health.
How Much Cardio Is Beneficial?
The short answer is, any amount of cardiovascular exercise is going to benefit your health. Try to set goals that are realistic for your lifestyle but make positive strides toward recommended activity levels.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week for all adults, even the elderly and disabled. This can be broken down in many different ways, most commonly 30 minutes a day five days a week. The 30 minutes does not need to be continuous. In fact, many people take short 10-minute walks three times a day for a healthy lifestyle.
How Does Cardiovascular Health Impact Hearing?
Within the inner ears are tiny hair cells called stereocilia. These cells convert soundwaves into electrical energy that the brain interprets as sound.
Stereocilia require healthy blood flow to the ears. Cardiovascular disease often means these cells do not receive enough oxygen from the blood, which can damage or destroy the cells. Once dead, they do not regenerate, and permanent sensorineural hearing loss is the result.
What Do the Studies Show?
Studies have confirmed the link between hearing loss and poor cardiovascular health.
One study by Miami University followed 1,000 patients ages 8 to 88 for ten years. They concluded that:
- Hearing loss correlates with age, but tends not to be noticeable until after age 50.
- Low cardiovascular fitness at any age is associated with poorer hearing sensitivity compared to those with mid- to high-level cardiovascular fitness.
- People over 50 with mid to high cardiovascular fitness have roughly the same hearing sensitivity compared to those in their 30s.
For these reasons, experts suspect hearing loss and cardiovascular fitness are linked by the common mechanism of improved blood circulation.
For more information or to schedule an appointment, call The Hearing & Balance Center today.