The Link Between Hearing Loss and Balance Problems

A quiet hearing change can show up as something you would never expect: feeling unsteady on your feet. We sit down with Dr. Jill Copley to unpack the surprising link between hearing loss, balance, and fall risk, including research showing that even mild hearing loss can significantly increase the odds of falling. If you have ever felt off balance in a grocery store aisle, uneasy walking in a parking lot, or disoriented when someone approaches from behind, this conversation will help you connect the dots.

We break down how balance really works as a system, not a single body part. Your vestibular system in the inner ear works alongside vision, proprioception, and the central nervous system to keep you upright. When the ear’s signals are disrupted, whether from inner ear fluid changes, membrane issues, head injury, or related disorders, your brain has to work harder to interpret what is happening around you. That extra load can show up as hesitation, drifting, or missteps, especially in busy or low light environments.

We also zoom out to whole body health and talk about type 2 diabetes as a major example. Diabetes can affect hearing, sensation in the feet, vision, and even blood flow and structures in the inner ear, creating overlapping risk factors that may make falls more likely. We close with clear, practical guidance: dizziness, unsteadiness, and falling are not normal at any age, and hearing tests can be an important part of prevention, especially after 55 or with diabetes or pre diabetes.

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Total Hearing Care
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Transcript

Welcome And Why Hearing Matters

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the Total Hearing Care Difference, where we help you experience life through better hearing. Hosted by the Experts of Total Hearing Care, a leading private audiology practice serving the DFW Metroplex, we are here to provide guidance on hearing loss, tinnitus, and the latest advancements in audiology. Transform your life through better hearing. Let's get started.

SPEAKER_01 0:28

Many people think hearing loss only affects communication, but the truth is it can quietly influence balance, stability, and even fall risk. Today we're uncovering the surprising connection between your ears and your body's ability to stay upright and steady.

Hearing Loss And Fall Risk

SPEAKER_01 0:50

Welcome back, everyone. I'm Sophia Yuvet, co-host and producer, back in the studio with Dr. Jill Copley. Dr. Copley, how is it going today?

SPEAKER_02 1:01

Great, Sophia. And I'm so glad we're talking about uh fall risk. Um, because you're right, people think of hearing loss as just hearing loss, and there's so many ways that hearing loss is related to uh falling.

SPEAKER_01 1:18

Oh, yes, and I could not agree with you more. So let's let's just dive in today. How does hearing loss affect balance and the risk of falls?

SPEAKER_02 1:30

So we know, um, based on um research, that a person even with a very mild hearing loss is at risk of falling three times more than someone without a hearing loss. So do we know exactly why that's happening? Not necessarily, but we know they're very related. Um, some of the things that we think are happening is you just don't have a sense of what's going on around you, as well as somebody with hearing. So you're not hearing all these subtle signs in the environment, somebody walking up behind you, your feet on the ground. So you're hearing maybe a change in in the elevation. And so that is the main thought. We're just not getting enough sound quality around us. Um, another one could be actual damage to the balance system or the hearing system, um, and those can be related, and those are actual disorders such as miniers, uh, viruses that can affect our hearing and balance system. Those can affect um our risk of falls as well.

SPEAKER_01 2:45

So, Dr. Copley, what changes inside the ear contribute to balance issues when hearing loss is present?

Inside The Vestibular Balance System

SPEAKER_02 2:56

So, we when we think of the ear, we typically just think of the inner ear, but there's also a system related and very closely positioned next to that, that's the vestibular system, or our balance system. And so our balance system consists of four main things: our vision, which is to be able to see what's going on around us, um, our our ability to know where things are in space and where we're located in space, how we're moving, and that's the part of it that's the ear. There's proprioception, which means you're feeling. Can you feel with your feet where you're going, as well as the central nervous system that puts all these messages together? So if you have damage to any of these, it can be hard to keep your balance. Usually, if you have balance to one or damage to one, um your other senses will try to keep your battle, keep you balanced. But in the inner ear, the vestibular system, there can be lots of problems. Um, you could have changes to the membranes, you could have changes to the metabolic makeup of the fluid. You could um let's say you get hit in the head, you could have damage to that part of the um the bone that the vestibular system is actually in. It's it's like being in a in a skull, skull, skull bone. So there's lots of things that can happen there to un you know cause an imbalance in how the mechanism is working, which can therefore make it more easy for you to fall.

SPEAKER_01 4:35

Wow. Now is there anything else as far as reduced auditory awareness that affects a person's ability to navigate their environment safely that we haven't already touched on?

SPEAKER_02 4:52

Um auditorily, there it really, I think when we look at other disorders as well, um, and how hearing and that vestibular system work with other disorders. So um there's lots of things that can affect your

Diabetes And Whole Body Balance

SPEAKER_02 5:10

balance. And one of the big ones I looked into when preparing for this podcast was diabetes. So diabetes, we people with type 2 diabetes are twice as likely to have hearing loss as those without type 2 diabetes. So we already know that hearing loss is a big factor in diabetes. Um, in diabetes, you often have nerve damage, and people can't feel their hands or their feet as much. You also have vision damage to the optic nerve, and so you may not see as well. But the other thing I was reading is how that actually diabetes, the uh blood sugar, and the damage that can occur with diabetes happens in the inner ear of the vestibular system, the way it can affect the blood vessels that go to the uh vestibular system, the way it can affect the membranes. It can harden uh blood vessels and the membrane so that the nerve cells and the fluids in there are not functioning like they should. And so I couldn't find research just connecting the two hearing loss, diabetes, and falls, but it makes so much sense that if both are causing it, when you put them together, it could make it much worse. Looking at hearing on its own is sometimes not as advantageous as looking at it from a whole system and how your whole body or a disorder that you might have may affect both systems together and just make it harder to keep your balance.

Early Warning Signs To Notice

SPEAKER_01 6:48

Now, are there any early signs that may indicate that someone's balance is being affected by their hearing?

SPEAKER_02 6:59

So, as far as hearing, certainly if you notice you have a hearing loss, you need to get your hearing tested. If you feel like you might be stumbling a little bit, or you're bumping into things because you didn't hear, or you're surprised that a car is up behind you and it leaves you unfocused. And again, that's part of the central nervous system, correct? Trying to figure out what's going on. But for things like diabetes, one of the recommendations now is as soon as you might be diagnosed with diabetes or even pre-diabetes, you have your hearing checked to see if that could be part of it, because we want to prevent not only hearing loss from getting worse, but prevent some of those falls as much as we can. Um, and so I think just noticing the loss, I think it's good to have your hearing checked. Um, or if you're stumbling now. I think one of the things physicians do now, and this is required, I think, by Medicare, is they now ask you if you've been to the doctor, have you fallen in the last year, or have you fallen since you were last in? And so we know, and other professions know, how important it is to keep you from falling. The main reason is falling over the age of 65 is um one of, if not the main factor for hospitalizations and death in people in that age. So we want to make sure that people are are upright. There's so much to it.

SPEAKER_01 8:35

Oh yes, I can definitely tell just from diving into this conversation

What To Do About Unsteadiness

SPEAKER_01 8:40

with you today. Now, Dr. Copley, before we fully close out, are there any other proactive steps you would like to let our listeners in on when it comes to experiencing both hearing changes and unsteadiness together?

SPEAKER_02 8:57

I'd like to say that unsteadiness as well as dizziness, falling, those are not normal. Those are not normal as you age. They're not normal when you're young. If that is happening, you definitely need to see your physician. Um, if you're at an age where you most likely will have hearing loss, which is over like 55, 60 years old, you should have your hearing checked to see if that could be contributing. But it's not normal. And I just can't emphasize that enough. I see lots of patients that come in and say, Well, I'm a little unsteady when I get up or when I sit down. That's not normal. Something's going on. And um, whether it's your hearing or something else going on in your body, we need to figure out what that is.

SPEAKER_01 9:46

Well, Dr. Copley, thank you so much for breaking that down for all of us today. This has been such an eye-opening conversation, and we will see everyone next time.

How To Book An Appointment

SPEAKER_00 9:59

Thank you for listening to the Total Hearing Care Difference. If you're in the DFW Metroplex and ready to take the next step toward better hearing, call 469 809 4487 to book an appointment. Or visit totalhearing care dot com because when you hear better, you live better. See you next time.