Failure to hear that it’s your turn to buy the next round of drinks may not actually be due to the traditional reason for the knowing looks and wry smiles!

New research points to hearing ability being affected by the drinking of excess alcohol. Notwithstanding, the well-known risks associated with excess drinking, there is now striking new evidence that prolonged abuse of alcohol consumption can cause serious hearing damage.

Recent studies produced in Germany demonstrate that a high alcohol intake over a long period of time can result in damage to the brain’s central auditory cortex, which may also lead to brain shrinkage. The cumulative damage caused to the bundle of auditory nerve fibre, even by moderate drinking may risk nerve damage and hearing loss.

In the control study, the BAEP levels (Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potentials) were tested in both heavy and social drinkers to evaluate the level of damage caused to the part of the brain associated with hearing ability, and which showed results indicating that drinking does have an affect on the ability to fully hear.

The study has led researchers to suggest that whilst drinking can result in brain damage, the ears may still be functioning perfectly, although the brain is no longer able to process the sounds.

However, whilst the time period of excessive alcohol drinking may be undetermined, individuals with alcoholism problems may also have damage to their inner ears. The condition known as ototoxicity is caused by high levels of alcohol in the bloodstream creating a toxic environment which can damage the delicate hair cells in the cochlea.

Hearing research conducted with participants suffering temporary hearing loss in the UK, which looked into the combination of alcohol and noise, showed that a temporary hearing loss can be sustained together or separately. It was also suggested that a regular intake of alcohol may actually lead to the kind of permanent hearing loss in the long term most often attributed to noise induced hearing loss.

Further findings revealed that increased alcohol drinking led to further temporary hearing deterioration which most affected the hearing of speech and related low frequency sounds. Older participants and those with a previous history of heavy drinking were most affected by hearing problems.