As part of that long list of physical capabilities that declines as we age, hearing loss due to aging, also known as presbycusis, affects most everyone.
That’s the bad news.
The good news is that everything you are doing to keep exercising actually helps prevent this progressive hearing loss. So if you are already exercising, keep going! If you’re not exercising, this is a really good reason the start.
The physiology behind the benefits of exercise and hearing is a simple one: blood circulation. As aerobic exercise pushes blood to all organs of your body, this include the organs of hearing. Like any other organ, the more oxygen-rich blood you push to an organ, the healthier the organ becomes and function is optimized.
The only caveat (you know that there always seems to be at least one “but”) is to approach your exercise program conservatively. Only because some have taken exercise to some severe levels that have induced a sensorineural hearing loss.
Essentially a select few have worked out hard enough in the presence of loud music that they did damage to some of the structures in the ear. This produced symptoms from ringing in the ears to actual hearing loss. The loss was sometime temporary, sometimes not.
So let’s not go too hard and loud out there, eh? And watch the volume of the music you listen to as you workout.
Other than that extreme side trip, there is nothing but good information about the use of aerobics to help with hearing health. Besides the hearing benefits, since the inner ear is also a big player in keeping one’s balance, a healthier ear contributes to avoiding falls. With better equilibrium, we can keep going, and be safer at it, than our couch-potato friends.
So get up and get out there!
And for those brave enough to find out how much hearing you may have already lost, here’s a quick online test. Don’t forget your headphones!
The first sign of maturity is the discovery that the volume knob also turns to the left.
~ Jerry M. Wright
This was a really informative article! I hadn’t even thought about the negative effects of listening to loud music while you work out. I’m pretty good about keeping my music down while doing pretty much everything except working out. Now that I know though, I can change that habit and hopefully I won’t face such adverse effects in the future! Thanks for the info!
I couldn’t imagine being unable to hear. Definitely going to keep my volume in check. Exercise on the other hand…
dhawkins Good caution warning article on hearing. I have sensitive ears from my allergies from blowing my nose to much. So, I have to have music at a low level, when I have my ear phone’s on. I see a lot of kids though, that have their music loud, when they have their ear phones on their ears.
Thanks so much for your comment!
As we all find out sooner or later, Mother Nature has lots of little surprises for us as our bodies get older. Our job is to do our best to take care of ourselves with what we’ve got.
I know what you mean. I always cringe when I can hear the music someone is playing through their ear buds when I am standing 5 feet away from them.
Now that’s loud!
As the saying goes, it always feel good when you STOP running (or cycling or whatever your sport) but like any good drug, the only way to get that good feeling again is to workout.
Nature can be cruel… GRIN