“As in many other areas of life, caution is advised with physical exercise. Even top-level athletes, across all disciplines, sometimes take unnecessary risks. A good rule: if we feel pain or other symptoms, like a ringing in the ears, our body is alerting us to a potential problem. You must have self-confidence when you train, and that includes two parts. First, believing that you are capable of doing something. Second, being certain that what you are doing is safe.” - Drew Sutton, MD, board-certified otolaryngologist
Exercising regularly is one of the best ways to maintain your health over the long term. Physical activity is one of the most effective preventive measures against lasting health complications. Training imposes a healthy amount of stress on your muscles, your cardiovascular system, and your skeletal system.
While measured stress is beneficial, it is also possible to push your body too hard through exercise. Excessive stress can injure muscles, ligaments, bones, and in rare cases, even the ears.
Here is a more detailed look at the link between ringing in the ears after a session and other aspects of your hearing health to watch out for.
Sports and Hearing Health
As mentioned above, well-executed exercise imposes on the body what is considered "good" stress. The micro-tears in muscles caused by training promote muscle growth, and the stress placed on bones during weight-bearing exercises signals them to strengthen their structure.
Practiced within reasonable limits, sports are also said to provide several benefits with age. One study even established that a low level of physical activity was associated with higher rates of hearing impairment.
While exercise is undeniably good for the body, doing too much can, like anything else, backfire. For hearing, this mainly concerns very intense activities that could potentially cause ear injury.
An Increased Risk of Barotrauma
If you have ever lifted a heavy load, you may have noticed that your body holds its breath and pushes. This reflex is widely considered a poor technique and can cause internal trauma called barotrauma.
Barotrauma is an injury caused by high pressure. When you hold your breath while pushing, internal pressures rise sharply. In the ear, this high pressure can lead to a rupture of the inner ear and a leak of fluid into the middle ear: this is a perilymphatic fistula.
A perilymphatic fistula is a condition in which the cochlea begins to leak into the middle ear. This leak is caused by the increase in intracranial pressure that can occur during intense physical exertion.
Generally speaking, if you experience severe dizziness, if your hearing becomes muffled, or if tinnitus appears suddenly without warning after a session, consult a healthcare professional. A perilymphatic fistula responds well to treatment: it is better to consult sooner rather than later.
Sports Can Worsen Pulsatile Tinnitus
Another possible downside of exercise: it can accentuate the symptoms of a condition called pulsatile tinnitus. This is a form of tinnitus characterized by a rhythmic, pulsing phantom sound perceived when no sound is present in the immediate environment.
Pulsatile tinnitus has several possible causes, but in the context of sports, it is linked to blood flow turbulence near the ear. In a healthy person, blood flow is generally laminar and unobstructed. A narrowing or partial obstruction can create turbulent flow.
Among the proposed causes of pulsatile tinnitus are a narrowing of blood vessels near the ear or a congenital malformation. In both cases, increased cardiac output can accentuate these symptoms and worsen the tinnitus.
High Noise Exposure
Going to the gym is a great way to blow off steam and work out, but these places are sometimes home to excessive noise exposure. The human body tolerates sound levels below 70 dB quite well; beyond that, ears are at risk of being damaged and suffering lasting hearing loss.
Between loud music and the clanging of weights, a gym can be as noisy as a construction site. If yours is particularly noisy, consider hearing protection.
Many people also listen to music during exercise and turn up the volume to drown out ambient noise, which can contribute to noise-induced hearing loss if one is not careful.
Rather than turning up the volume on your headphones, opt for isolating or noise-canceling earbuds: you will listen at a safer volume while eliminating the noisy distractions of the gym.
Benefits for the Ear
The main benefit of exercise for hearing health stems from better circulatory health: the body distributes oxygen, nutrients, and fluids more efficiently throughout the system. From a hearing perspective, this means that the structures of the ear are better supplied with blood.
Benefits for the Brain
Beyond the ears themselves, a generally healthy lifestyle, including physical activity, helps maintain a healthy mind.
The brain is a highly specialized and resource-intensive organ, as it must power thousands of neurons firing every second. Regular training and eating well promote optimal blood flow and fluid circulation.
Many think that hearing health only concerns the ears; in reality, the brain is perhaps even more decisive. The ears convert sound waves into usable nerve impulses, then the brain takes over: it interprets sound in terms of pitch, intensity, and even direction. All of this takes place in a region of the brain called the auditory cortex.
From speech recognition to the simple identification of a note, everything passes through the auditory cortex before reaching the rest of the brain.
Signs to Watch For
In your health and wellness journey, you are likely familiar with the warning signs regarding muscles, joints, or bones. Knowing how to recognize a muscle strain, a potentially injured joint, or other injuries related to physical activity is part of responsible practice.
Muscles, joints, and bones matter, of course, but so do your ears: it is important to know the signs and symptoms of potential hearing damage.
Head Trauma Followed by Hearing Issues
Several sports involve contact, so it is not uncommon to take a blow to the head from time to time. Head trauma is mainly concerning because of the risk of concussion, but it can also affect the ears.
A blow to the head can affect the ear in multiple ways and cause damage to any of its parts: eardrum, middle ear ossicles, or even the cochlea. If you hear less well after a blow, or if you suffer from dizziness or tinnitus, it is important to consult without delay.
Symptoms of Hearing Loss
Regardless of your physical activity, it is essential to know the general signs and symptoms of hearing loss. The most telling: an increasing difficulty in hearing what is happening around you.
If you often ask others to repeat themselves or if you need subtitles for your favorite shows, this may indicate the beginning of a decline in hearing.
What to Do in Case of Hearing Loss
Hearing loss is not easy to accept, but it is not the end of the world: thanks to technological advances, it is possible to regain almost all of your quality of life and auditory acuity.
Hearing aids are among the best solutions. CLARIA offers over-the-counter hearing aids at a price much lower than that charged by audiologists. With two models to choose from, you will find the option that best matches your needs and your budget.
Conclusion
In short, sports provide many benefits to your health, but you must also know when they can become harmful. A ringing in the ear after exercise can have multiple origins. It can be concerning: it is better to consult an audiologist to rule out more serious causes.
Sources:
Link between hearing impairment and low physical activity in the elderly | NCBI
Perilymphatic fistula: classification, etiology, diagnosis, and treatment | NCBI
Pulsatile Tinnitus - Symptoms and Causes | Penn Medicine
