We know that food allergies can be dangerous, but what about food allergies and hearing loss? The truth is that some allergic reactions can in extreme situations cause hearing loss. Let’s look at how this happens.
A Crash Course on Food Allergy
Ever had a cold or flu that made your ears feel blocked? That could be the start of an ear infection. Before that, you may have had a stuffy nose, itchy throat, coughing, and sneezing. Some food allergies can give you those symptoms without you having a cold or flu, but it may be the way your body reacts when in contact with something it is allergic to.
How Food Allergy can Cause Hearing Loss
The most common result of a food allergy is inflammation. This could show itself as puffiness around the eyes, inflamed throat, hives on the skin, or inflammation of the GI tracts. Along with that, you could also have some hearing loss, so it is important to see your doctor if that accompanies your usual allergic reaction.
Also important to note is that food allergies are not always obvious. You may have an allergy without knowing it. If a child has frequent ear infections, an allergy test is a good method to try and find the cause of the infections or to determine or eliminate a link between food allergies and hearing loss or an ear infection.
Different allergies can affect different parts of the ear. The outer ear is affected if you have skin-related allergies, such as those to cats, dogs, perfume, or earrings. However, it is allergies affecting the middle ear that can result in hearing loss. Unknown or untreated food allergies can cause fluid or wax to build up in the ear’s Eustachian tube instead of normally draining out. This type of hearing loss is called conductive hearing loss.
Now that you know there is a connection between food allergies and hearing loss, the best thing to do is to inform yourself and consult a doctor if you suspect any food allergies.
