Hearing Problems In Pregnancy – Causes, Symptoms & Treatments
You heard it right; hearing issues is a pregnancy symptom that can be treated with rest.
shreeja pillai 
In This Article
Are you facing hearing problems during pregnancy? If you feel ringing sensations in your ears and face certain hearing difficulties, it might be due to hearing problems.
It is common to have hearing issues during pregnancy, but you should consult your doctor about it immediately to avoid any related complications in the future. Read on to know more about hearing problems during pregnancy, their causes, treatment, and preventive measures.
What Are Hearing Problems During Pregnancy?
Pregnancy is the one of the most special phases of a woman’s life. It is synonymous with changes, physical, emotional, and others. The changes can lead to lovely events, or nasty complications. Hearing problems are one of these irksome complications during pregnancy. Here, we list some hearing problems that you may suffer while expecting.
- Tinnitus
- Reduction in hearing
- Pressure in ear
- Otalgia
- Secretion in ear
- Otosclerosis
- Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) (1)
Causes Of Hearing Problems In Pregnancy
There are many reasons for hearing problems during pregnancy. Hormonal dysfunction is one of the key causes of hearing problems during pregnancy. Otosclerosis occurs due to hormonal modulation during pregnancy, and it often surfaces during pregnancy. Also, changes occur in the cardiovascular system, endocrine system, and hematological system during pregnancy. The changes affect the circulation of cochlear fluid resulting in hearing problems, such as sensorineural hearing loss, otalgia, and other hearing impairments, during pregnancy (2).
Symptoms Of Hearing Problems In Pregnancy
Even though hearing impairment is a common symptom of hearing problems during pregnancy, there are some more symptoms that you may suffer. Common symptoms include:
- Reduction in hearing sensation or hearing loss
- Ringing in ears
- Secretion from ear
- Pain in ears
- Vertigo
- Dizziness
- Nausea and vomiting
- Gait unbalance
- Ear fullness
- Tendency to fall
- Toxemia (3)
If you suffer from any of the above hearing problems during pregnancy symptoms, it’s time to visit your doctor as soon as possible to start the right line of treatment.
Treating Hearing Problems During Pregnancy
Your doctor will recommend you treatment depending on the type and severity of hearing problem you suffer during pregnancy. Your doctor may refrain from giving medications since they may harm your unborn baby. However, considering your health condition the doctor may prescribe low doses of appropriate medication.
Here are some effective and safe treatments to treat hearing problems during pregnancy.
1. Take Rest:
Depending on your type of hearing problem, the doctor may suggest taking care and rest. You need to have bed rest with your head immobilized between the pillows.
2. Drink Fluids:
Drinking healthy fluids can prevent dehydration resulting due to nausea and vomiting. So, drink plenty of fluids (4).
3. Use Hearing Aid:
After examining your hearing problem, your doctor may recommend using an appropriate hearing aid. Hearing aids help improve your hearing ability. The device magnifies sound vibrations entering your ear. Hair cells, small sensory cells in your inner ear, detect large vibrations and convert them into neural signals and send them to your brain. So, you can hear in a better way (5).
4. Take Care And Avoid Stress:
Avoid stress. If your stress levels are increasing due to tinnitus, then using tinnitus masker is the safest option. Take good care of yourself. Also, avoid smoking, drinking, coffee, foods containing MSG, loud exposure to noises, and soda drinks (6).
5. Fluoride Tablets:
Medical studies reveal that fluoride tablets tend to slow down the progression of otosclerosis considerably. Also, fluoride tablets aid in preserving your hearing ability and minimizing the symptoms such as dizziness and balance problems. Your doctor may recommend the effective tablets considering your condition, but make sure you have the prescribed dose of the medication to treat the hearing problem (7).
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Can your hearing be affected during pregnancy?
Changing hormone levels in pregnancy result in otological changes. Most of these changes are temporary, and mothers can have normal hearing in the postpartum period when these hormone levels are settled down to normal limits. Hearing is also changed when nasal congestion is caused due to the blockage of the eustachian tube connecting the nose and ears and excess earwax accumulation (8) (9).
2. What helps clogged ears when pregnant?
Nasal sprays help to relieve blocked ears due to nasal congestion. Removal of earwax can also improve clogged years. You may consult ear-nose-throat specialists if the ear blockage persists in pregnancy (9).
3. Is hearing more sensitive during pregnancy?
Hearing can be more sensitive during pregnancy due to inner ear alterations resulting from fluid retention and a shift in osmolarity. Hearing can be highly sensitive in low frequencies during pregnancy (10).
4. How loud is too loud during pregnancy?
Noise louder than 85 decibels or more are hazardous for hearing. Although a mother can use hearing protection to escape noise above the recommended limits, it can still affect the baby. It is recommended to avoid sounds louder than 115 decibels during pregnancy to protect unborn babies’ hearing (11).
Although hearing problems during pregnancy are a common occurrence, it is advised to get a doctor’s opinion on it early to avoid complications in the future. Pain in the ears, dizziness and the feeling of fullness in the ears are common symptoms of the condition. Taking enough rest, staying hydrated with enough water and fluids, and using a hearing aid at the doctor’s suggestion can help deal with the problems.
References
- Types of Hearing Loss.
https://www.cdc.gov/hearing-loss-children/about/types-of-hearing-loss.html - Zhi-Qiang Hou and Qiu-Ju Wang; (2011); A new disease: pregnancy-induced sudden sensorineural hearing loss?
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21426273/ - Hearing loss.
https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/003044.htm - Pregnancy and diet.
https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/pregnancy-and-diet - Hearing Aids.
https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing-aids - Byung In Han et al.; (2009); Tinnitus: Characteristics, Causes, Mechanisms and Treatments.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2686891/ - Ears – otosclerosis.
https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/ears-otosclerosis - Santosh Kumar Swain, (2019); et al; Otological manifestations in pregnant women – A study at a tertiary care hospital of eastern India.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7452357/ - Pregnancy Symptoms.
https://www.healthhub.sg/live-healthy/986/pregnancy-symptoms - Can Pregnancy Lead to Changes in Hearing Threshold?.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0145561319871240#:~:text=This%20fluid%20retention%20and%20shift - Noise- Reproductive Health.
https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/repro/noise.html
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