Statistics say that men are likelier to lose their hearing. Between the ages of 20 and 69, two out of three people with hearing loss are men. Where does the difference come from?
Men are more at risk because of increased noise exposure. They are likelier to work in environments that cause hearing damage, such as construction sites. But that might not be the only reason.
It seems likely that certain hormones affect your hearing. Women have higher estrogen levels. This could be part of why they are less likely to suffer from hearing loss.
How Hormones Affect Your Hearing
Women are less likely to have hearing problems. But after menopause, their risk starts growing at great speed. This could be due to the drop in estrogen and progesterone levels.
Hence, it would make sense to use hormone replacement therapy to solve the problem of hearing loss. After all, it can be possible to alter a person’s estrogen levels. So does this actually work?
Researchers found that hormone therapy isn’t a good way to restore a person’s hearing health. Furthermore, it can increase your risk of hearing loss.
The researchers studied a group of 81,000 women. The study confirmed that menopausal women are likelier to suffer from hearing loss than pre-menopausal women. But there was a more surprising discovery.
Women who take hormone therapy are likelier to have hearing issues. However, there is no explanation for this yet.
A Final Word
Hearing science is a growing field. Researchers are working on explaining how sex hormones affect your hearing.
There are still many unanswered questions. But in the future, this research could bring great new advancements.
