Now you know why certain music might stress you, why loud-talkers might upset you, and why traffic noise might make you feel a little on edge. Scientists at the Karolinska Institute and Stockholm University’s Stress Research Institute in Sweden looked at how sensitive women were to sounds immediately after a few minutes of artificially induced stress. The study builds on past research showing a link between stress, emotional exhaustion, and hearing problems such as tinnitus, a constant ringing in the ears. “We know that stress and hearing are related, and that those with stress-related disorders often display maladaptive reactions to acute stress,” explains Dan Hasson, PhD, an associate professor in the Karolinska Institute’s department of physiology and pharmacology who is also affiliated with the Stress Research Institute. Hasson and his fellow researchers decided to dig deeper by investigating the effects of acute stress on hypersensitivity to sound in people with different levels of chronic emotional exhaustion. Their main question: Would people with chronic emotional exhaustion be more sensitive to sound after being exposed to short-term stress? Observing experimentally induced stress: To find the answer, the researchers exposed 208 women and 140 men, 23 to 71 years old and with low, medium, or high levels of emotional exhaustion, to five minutes of experimentally induced stress. That stress took three forms: physical (placing one of their hands in ice), mental (performance on a computer-based test), and social (being observed). The results: Women with a high level of emotional exhaustion were more sensitive to sound after artificially induced stress than those who were not exhausted. Some women experienced hearing sound at 60 decibels – the level of a normal conversation – as a noise so loud that it was uncomfortable to them. Men in the study experienced a similar reaction, but it was not statistically significant. Link between stress and hearing: So what do these results mean? From a broad perspective, there’s a clear link between hearing problems and stress, Dr. Hasson says, so when a woman presents a hearing issue to her physician, potential stressors in her life should also be evaluated. There are also some implications in terms of physiology: Health care professionals may be able to use stress hormone levels to determine the risk for hearing problems in emotionally exhausted women. “It was interesting to see the individual variation between the subjects in terms of their sensitivity to stress,” says Jonas Bergquist, PhD, a chemistry professor at Uppsala University in Sweden and a co-author of the study. “The study presents new and exciting data suggesting objective biochemical markers, like stress hormones, can be analyzed over time.” The research also points out a need to recognize the potential consequences of being overly sensitive to sound. Hypersensitivity to sound can be disabling for some people, forcing them to isolate themselves and to avoid stressful situations. “It’s also important to note that, pre-stress, there was no difference in sensitivity to sounds between the emotional exhaustion groups,” Hasson says. The emotionally exhausted women developed hypersensitivity to sound only after they were exposed to one of the acute stressors. “This is important clinically, because there may be a need to induce some form of stress in these patients in order to make a proper hearing assessment and treatment,” he explains. What it means to the average person: All of this may have implications for the average person. If you’re emotionally exhausted from work, from taking care of children and family, from a lack of sleep, or any combination of these circumstances, pay attention to changes in your hearing, particularly after you’ve been exposed to a short-term stressor. If you notice symptoms like ringing in your ears or sudden loud noise, talk to your doctor. Also try to combat sources of your emotional exhaustion. “Don’t try to do everything at once. Instead, set priorities,” advises LeslieBeth Wish, PhD, a psychologist and social worker in Sarasota, Fla. If you start to feel stressed and overwhelmed, take a break and don’t be afraid to delegate some of your responsibilities to your partner or children, she says.
