Sleep Apnea, Hearing Loss and Thickened Blood

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Permalink Reply by Rock Hinkle on May 21, 2009 at 10:01am

Save sleep, save the world. Great post Dr. Park. Another step in showing the many different ways apnea affects us.

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Permalink Reply by BeeAsleep on May 21, 2009 at 12:04pm

Well, I know this is anecdotal evidence, but I have been diagnosed with moderate hearing loss that came on over the last 2 years. I am 58 years old. No accidents head injuries, or other factors. I have had blood tests to rule out the common causes. Nothing wrong. So I just purchased hearing aids for my unexplained hearing loss. Very interesting. Thanks.

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Permalink Reply by bonesigh on May 21, 2009 at 12:46pm

Hmmm, perhaps this explains my diagnosis of auditory hearing loss. I initially went to get my hearing tested because my tinnitus, ringing in my ears, seemed worse and I thought this might be causing me to not hear well. Especially in situations where there was a lot of background noise, like at a restaurant. The hearing specialist said my hearing was fine but that I had an auditory processing problem and that my brain could hear the voices fine but could not figure out what was being said. I've been using my bi-pap faithfully for over 2 years now. No improvement of hearing however. Darn.

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Permalink Reply by Mike on May 21, 2009 at 2:27pm

i've casually observed that my hearing is getting poorer all the time. i'm only 35 and my wife and i always joke about how i need a hearing aid. wonder if this is connected to sleep apnea at all.

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Permalink Reply by Steven Y. Park, MD on May 21, 2009 at 2:31pm

Mike, there are many other good reasons for hearing loss. If it's really a problem, see an ENT out where you live and maybe even get a hearing test. Although this article implies that brain stem damage is possible with sleep apnea, I would take it with a grain of salt.

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Permalink Reply by Richard C. Davis on July 10, 2009 at 12:37pm

I was just recently diagnosed with sleep apnea and I just got my machine today. My sleep tests indicated, among other things, that my blood oxygen level would drop as low as 58%.
About 12 to 13 years ago I experienced sudden bilateral hearing loss together with infrequent but severe spinning vertigo attacks. I sought help from my PCP who recommended a specialist who recommended another specialist at MEEI in Boston. The original diagnosis was bilateral Meniere's syndrome, Meniere's being, as you know, an idiopathic diagnosis. My hearing loss continued in a step-wise, episodic fashion over the years until now, where my hearing loss is approaching cochlear implant territory (85-95db with < 40% speech recognition). The last diagnosis I got from MEEI (about 5 years ago) was that I had "some sort of degenerative hearing loss of unknown origin". No one ever suggested sleep apnea as a possible cause. I have always been in generally good health and there is no history of hearing loss in my family.
Do you think that long-term oxygen deprivation from sleep apnea could have been a cause of my hearing loss?

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Permalink Reply by Steven Y. Park, MD on July 10, 2009 at 2:33pm

Richard,

This is a good explanation based on this paper and all the other research studies. However, it's not mainstream thinking (yet). It's also difficult to prove. If you happen to get the test that the study participants got, it may confirm this finding.

Richard C. Davis said:

I was just recently diagnosed with sleep apnea and I just got my machine today. My sleep tests indicated, among other things, that my blood oxygen level would drop as low as 58%.
About 12 to 13 years ago I experienced sudden bilateral hearing loss together with infrequent but severe spinning vertigo attacks. I sought help from my PCP who recommended a specialist who recommended another specialist at MEEI in Boston. The original diagnosis was bilateral Meniere's syndrome, Meniere's being, as you know, an idiopathic diagnosis. My hearing loss continued in a step-wise, episodic fashion over the years until now, where my hearing loss is approaching cochlear implant territory (85-95db with < 40% speech recognition). The last diagnosis I got from MEEI (about 5 years ago) was that I had "some sort of degenerative hearing loss of unknown origin". No one ever suggested sleep apnea as a possible cause. I have always been in generally good health and there is no history of hearing loss in my family.
Do you think that long-term oxygen deprivation from sleep apnea could have been a cause of my hearing loss?

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Permalink Reply by Kathy Keller on July 10, 2009 at 4:41pm

As a person who is hearing impaired, having lost 40% in one ear and I'm deaf in the other ear.....is this article saying that IF the technology had been available when I was much younger to test for OSA, that I probably would have been diagnosed that long ago?

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Permalink Reply by Richard C. Davis on July 12, 2009 at 9:25am

An additional piece of information regarding the treatment of Meniere's is that the condition is thought to be caused by a fluid imbalance between perilymph and endolymph in the cochlear. Meniere's is commonly treated with a diuretic in an attempt to redress the "fluid imbalance". If the Meniere's symptoms (tinnitus, vertigo, feeling of fullness, hearing loss) are actually being caused by the effects of blood hyperviscosity, it would seem that diuretics would only aggravate the problem.


Steven Y. Park, MD said:

Richard,

This is a good explanation based on this paper and all the other research studies. However, it's not mainstream thinking (yet). It's also difficult to prove. If you happen to get the test that the study participants got, it may confirm this finding.

Richard C. Davis said:

I was just recently diagnosed with sleep apnea and I just got my machine today. My sleep tests indicated, among other things, that my blood oxygen level would drop as low as 58%.
About 12 to 13 years ago I experienced sudden bilateral hearing loss together with infrequent but severe spinning vertigo attacks. I sought help from my PCP who recommended a specialist who recommended another specialist at MEEI in Boston. The original diagnosis was bilateral Meniere's syndrome, Meniere's being, as you know, an idiopathic diagnosis. My hearing loss continued in a step-wise, episodic fashion over the years until now, where my hearing loss is approaching cochlear implant territory (85-95db with < 40% speech recognition). The last diagnosis I got from MEEI (about 5 years ago) was that I had "some sort of degenerative hearing loss of unknown origin". No one ever suggested sleep apnea as a possible cause. I have always been in generally good health and there is no history of hearing loss in my family.
Do you think that long-term oxygen deprivation from sleep apnea could have been a cause of my hearing loss?

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Permalink Reply by Judy on July 12, 2009 at 10:45am

You know, it only just now occurred to me but my step dad had nerve deafness and later polycythemia and eventually died from congestive heart failure. He was a bull of a man, short and stocky and solid as the rock of Gibralter.

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Permalink Reply by caroline on June 26, 2010 at 8:36am

Sleep apnea is common sleep disorders in which people suffer from pause of breathe for few seconds while they are in sleep. It may result in many other health problems. So it is important to have sleep apnea treatment for that you will have to use different snoring devices.
http://www.sleepapnea-treatment.org

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Permalink Reply by RChatty on June 26, 2010 at 4:43pm

Hey! That is the neatest thing I've ever heard! That means perhaps there IS some hope for me!. I have hearing loss and my OAE's always fail. OAE also tests the inner ear. I am seeing an ENT next week and I'll mention this to him. Maybe I can come up with some answers. This could explain my high blood pressure too. I'm LOVING my machine. If it can help me out of a few health problem I'm going to throw a party for it.

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