We know that people use information from other senses to help them balance. For instance, we use our vision to help us balance. When we walk outside today, and see that the sidewalk is sloping, we will automatically adjust our steps and our balance based on this information.
But how does one’s hearing affect their balance? A study appeared in the Archives of Internal Medicine Feb 28, 2012 about research out of Johns Hopkins Medical Institution. They studied 2,000 people between the ages of 40 to 69. The people had their hearing tested and were asked questions about if they had fallen in the past year.
(Pictured: an antique ear trumpet for the hard of hearing.)
The results confirmed the contribution that hearing makes to balance. In this study, the researchers found that even people with a mild hearing loss (25 decibels) were nearly 3 times more likely to have a history of falls than those without a hearing loss! They were also able to measure how as the hearing decreased, the risk of falls increased. For instance with every 10 decibels of hearing loss, the risk of falling increased by 1.4 fold!
Many people don’t want to wear their hearing aids, for many various reasons. But when they understand that wearing the hearing aids will decrease their risk of falls and injury, they are usually much more willing to put them on…
