Hearing problems due to stress: what helps against beeping and whistling in the ear?

Beeping, whistling, poor hearing – those who are stressed for a long time often feel the physical consequences in their ears. An ENT doctor explains what exactly is behind the hearing problems and how they can be alleviated.

by Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) Published: 05.10.2021

Hörprobleme durch Stress — Christin Klose / dpa-tmn

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It beeps or whistles and you suddenly understand a lot worse: In stressful situations the ears seem to sometimes playing crazy. The problem is usually not in the ear, but elsewhere in the head.

This is where most of the hearing takes place, says the ear, nose and throat doctor Uso Walter. In the interview the author explains ( “How stress changes hearing” ) the mechanisms behind the problem – and he says what will help us to make it better.

Mr. Walter, why is stress on your ears?

Uso Walter: A distinction must be made between the effects on the ear and hearing. These are two different things.

With long-term stress it can lead to insufficient blood flow in the ear, which can damage it in the long term. Much more immediate and more frequent, however, stress changes hearing processing.

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How is that expressed?

Walter: You become sensitive to noise, get tinnitus, understand less well. The big problem is: Many people do not associate such symptoms with stress, which is why they often do not know what to do for a long time.

It helps to realize that hearing processing is like a filter that becomes more permeable through stress. So you hear more background noise, which is normally filtered, and hear less of what you actually want to hear.

What helps then?

Walter: Basically, it helps to reduce stress. You can say: when you become calmer, your hearing also becomes calmer. And the filtering of interfering noises works better.

What can also help: To consciously concentrate on certain noises and speech stimuli and thus train the ability to differentiate – hearing takes place largely in the head.

These mechanisms of subconscious hearing processing can be changed. You are influenced by stress and emotions. That is why it is so important in everyday life for balance and relaxation to worry and not get upset about anything.

If you do not take countermeasures in time for stress-related hearing problems, they can progressively worsen.

You withdraw to avoid the noises, which leads to fears and Depression and makes the hearing filter more and more permeable. This creates a real vicious circle that is increasingly difficult to break.

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