Can Rheumatoid Arthritis Cause Hearing Loss?

When I have a patient with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), I like to test their hearing. Most doctors think I’m crazy. They don’t get the connection between your hearing and your joints. But it’s clearly there. When you have RA, your immune system mistakes your bones, cartilage, and connective tissues for hostile invaders. It attacks and breaks down the joints. The result is a crippling loss of mobility. But RA doesn’t stop at the joints. It can affect the entire body. About 15% to 25% of RA patients have “extra-articular” RA. This form of the disease can attack your heart, lungs, blood vessels, kidneys and eyes. It can even lead to hearing loss. Hearing Loss Can Be Linked To Rheumatoid Arthritis So you can see why I like to test hearing in my RA patients. And a new study from Denmark backs me up on this. Researchers found that patients who have had RA for a long time are much more likely to have impaired hearing.
Source: Al Sears, MD Natural Remedies - Category: Complementary Medicine Authors: Tags: Health Source Type: news