{"id":6425,"date":"2019-05-10T11:35:51","date_gmt":"2019-05-10T18:35:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arizonahearing.com\/?p=6425"},"modified":"2022-06-07T15:34:59","modified_gmt":"2022-06-07T22:34:59","slug":"study-links-drug-alcohol-misuse-with-hearing-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arizonahearing.com\/study-links-drug-alcohol-misuse-with-hearing-loss\/","title":{"rendered":"Study Links Drug, Alcohol Misuse with Hearing Loss"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>People with hearing loss in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tucsonaz.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"City of Tucson, AZ\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tucson<\/a> have a higher risk of misusing prescription opioids and alcohol, particularly those under age 50 \u2013 further stressing the importance of early detection.<\/p>\n<h2>Substance Use Disorders &amp; Hearing Impairment<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"substance abuse and hearing loss\" src=\"https:\/\/arizonahearing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/medical-drugs-1536x2304.jpg\" alt=\"Spilled pills from a bottle\" width=\"1400\" height=\"2100\" class=\"alignright wp-image-6426 size-large\" srcset=\"https:\/\/arizonahearing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/medical-drugs-1536x2304.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/arizonahearing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/medical-drugs-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/arizonahearing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/medical-drugs-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/arizonahearing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/medical-drugs-scaled.jpg 1365w, https:\/\/arizonahearing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/medical-drugs-256x384.jpg 256w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>A University of Michigan and VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ajpmonline.org\/article\/S0749-3797(18)32382-1\/pdf\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"study | ajpmonline.org\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">study<\/a>, published this month in the <em>American Journal of Preventive Medicine<\/em>, found a strong correlation between hearing loss and substance use disorders.<\/p>\n<p>Researchers gathered data from 86,186 people who responded to the group\u2019s National Survey on Drug Use and Health and the results were eye-opening.<\/p>\n<p>Adults under the age of 50 who experienced impaired hearing were more likely than their normal-hearing peers to suffer from a substance use disorder, even when other social, economic and mental health differences were taken into account:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The youngest adults (those under the age of 35) were most likely to have a prescription opioid disorder; their risk was 2 \u00bd times greater.<\/li>\n<li>Adults with hearing loss aged 35-49 were twice as likely to have disorders related to both prescription opioids and alcohol.<\/li>\n<li>Adults over age 50 did not show higher rates of prescription opioid or alcohol use disorders.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The results don\u2019t come as a complete surprise to lead researcher Michael McKee, M.D. He runs the Deaf Health Clinic, which provides primary care and mental health care to deaf and hearing-impaired patients of Michigan Medicine, U of M\u2019s academic medical center.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. McKee had noticed a disproportionately higher number of younger patients with hearing loss were being treated for <a href=\"https:\/\/medlineplus.gov\/ency\/article\/001522.htm\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"substance use disorders | medlineplus.gov\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">substance use disorders<\/a> and, already familiar with the detrimental physical and mental health effects of hearing loss, wondered if there might be a connection. The survey appears to substantiate his hunch.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe marginalizing effects of hearing loss, such as social isolation, may be creating higher rates of substance use disorders,\u201d McKee theorizes. He thinks part of the problem might be related to the physician-patient communication barriers that result from hearing loss.<\/p>\n<p>When patients are in need of pain management, the simplest solution is often prescription opioids. A lack of awareness over the degree of hearing loss younger patients may be suffering is another possible factor.<\/p>\n<p>Many health care professionals view hearing impairment as a condition that primarily affects older adults, but this simply isn\u2019t true. Of those experiencing serious hearing loss or deafness who responded to the survey, 1.5 percent were younger than 35, 2.2 percent were 35-49 and 9.4 percent were over the age of 50.<\/p>\n<p>A diagnosis of hearing loss doesn\u2019t make a substance use disorder inevitable, but it is something for both doctors and patients to be aware of. Health care providers should approach patients of all ages equally and stop making assumptions about communication abilities, evaluating each person\u2019s issues on a case-by-case basis.<\/p>\n<p>If you or a loved one are experiencing signs of hearing loss, especially if you\u2019re younger than 50, we recommend making an appointment with a <a href=\"https:\/\/arizonahearing.com\/hearing-loss\/\" title=\"Hearing Aids Clinic in Tucson\">Tucson audiologist<\/a> as early as possible. <a href=\"https:\/\/arizonahearing.com\/request-appointment\/\" title=\"Treating | Arizona Hearing Specialists\">Treating<\/a> your hearing impairment now can prevent problems in the future.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<div>\n<h3>Related Hearing Loss Posts:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/arizonahearing.com\/can-hearing-loss-cured\/\" title=\"Can Hearing Loss Be Cured?\"><strong>Can Hearing Loss Be Cured?<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/arizonahearing.com\/hearing-loss-heart-health\/\" title=\"Hearing Loss and Heart Health\"><strong>Hearing Loss and Heart Health<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/arizonahearing.com\/can-untreated-hearing-loss-be-costing-you-money\/\" title=\"Can Untreated Hearing Loss Be Costing You Money?\"><strong>Can Untreated Hearing Loss Be Costing You Money?<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<div>\n<h3>Our Tucson Audiologists Office Locations<\/h3>\n<div style=\"width: 450%; padding: 0 5px 0 0; float: left; font-size: 0.9em; margin-bottom: 20px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/place\/Arizona+Hearing+Specialists\/@32.3439187,-111.0116971,15z\/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0xc0154f96a0107b7b?ved=2ahUKEwjKjarb-LHfAhUYITQIHZilDh4Q_BIwGnoECAYQCA\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Audiologist on La Cholla Blvd map directions\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Tucson &#8211; Northwest<\/strong><\/a><br \/>\n7574 N La Cholla Blvd<br \/>\nTucson, AZ 85741<br \/>\n(520) 399-7652<\/div>\n<div style=\"width: 45%; padding: 0 5px 0 0; float: left; font-size: 0.9em; margin-bottom: 20px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/place\/Arizona+Hearing+Specialists\/@32.3093774,-110.8438898,15z\/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x7b63db85452debb3!8m2!3d32.3093774!4d-110.8438898\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Audiologist on Sunrise Dr map directions\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Tucson &#8211; Ventana\/Foothills<\/strong><\/a><br \/>\n6969 E Sunrise Dr, #200<br \/>\nTucson, AZ 85750<br \/>\n(520) 399-7652<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>People with hearing loss in Tucson have a higher risk of misusing prescription opioids and alcohol, particularly those under age 50 \u2013 further stressing the importance of early detection. Substance Use Disorders &amp; Hearing Impairment A University of Michigan and VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System study, published this month in the American Journal of Preventive&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6426,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"(520) 399-7630 | Tucson | People with hearing loss have a higher risk of misusing prescription opioids and alcohol, particularly those under age 50.","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arizonahearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6425"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arizonahearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arizonahearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arizonahearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arizonahearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6425"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/arizonahearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6425\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7809,"href":"https:\/\/arizonahearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6425\/revisions\/7809"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arizonahearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arizonahearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arizonahearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arizonahearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}