Before we get into today’s topic, I thought we should start with a joke. I feel like laughing.
A guy walks into a pet store and says to the owner, “I want a pet that’s really different. Something unusual.”
The store owner thinks for a moment and says, “I’ve got just what you want. It’s a talking gerbil.”
“A talking gerbil?” the man asks.
“Yep. Comes with his own little house and it’s only $50,” the pet store owner replied.
Slightly skeptical, the man buys the gerbil, takes it home, and sets the gerbil on the table. Curious, he leans over and says, “Hey there, little buddy. You wanna go grab a drink at the bar?”
No answer.
He tries again, louder this time. “Hey! You in there? Wanna go get a beer?”
Still nothing. Now he’s annoyed. “Great! I just wasted fifty bucks on a gerbil.”
But just as he’s about to walk away, he hears this tiny voice from coming inside the gerbil’s home shouting: “I heard you the first time! I’m putting on my shoes!”
Well, that’s not exactly a hearing loss problem. It’s more of a selective hearing/lack of response problem. In any event, today I wanted to talk about Myasthenia Gravis and its association with hearing loss.
For those of you who know me, you know I’ve worn hearing aids for a number of years. It’s probably genetic as many people in my family share the malady. Luckily for me, hearing aids help and they help immensely.
Due to my genetic disposition to hearing loss, I never really gave hearing loss a thought when it comes to Myasthenia Gravis, but for some reason today I decided to see if there was a link.
Sure enough, I learned Myasthenia Gravis can cause hearing loss due to its impact on the auditory system. It causes hearing loss through the action of autoantibodies against acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) on outer hair cells in the inner ear. This can impair hearing function. The article said while some patients with MG may experience noticeable hearing loss, others may have subclinical changes that can only be detected through specific audiological tests.
Let me divert for a moment and tell you what I know about any kind of hearing loss. When a person begins to lose their hearing, they have a tendency to avoid conversation, stay away from noisy places where they would have trouble understanding speech, and even isolate themselves. This isolation can lead to depression. There are also studies that indicate people with hearing loss are more prone to Alzheimer’s as a result of isolating themselves.
In other words, hearing loss can lead to a host of other problems.
If you find speech is becoming difficult to understand or you need to turn the tv up rather loud in order to hear it, then it’s probably time to get your hearing checked. Nobody wants to wear hearing aids, but they made a world of difference for me. They helped bring me back into the real world and enjoy conversation once again.
Oh, and one more thing, when you visit the audiologist, make sure to mention you have Myasthenia Gravis (if you’re a snowflake like Wayne and I). It may help them in their diagnosis and how they treat the underlying problem.