Can Hearing Aids Cause Vertigo?

Vertigo is an unpleasant (yet common) condition that affects about 2 percent of the population, causing people to perceive movement that isn’t actually happening. It often goes hand-in-hand with other symptoms like hearing loss, buzzing in the ears, headaches, dizziness and sometimes vomiting.

When people experience vertigo, they may feel that their head or surrounding environment is spinning. The turning or whirling sensation can cause light headedness, disorientation and sometimes a loss of balance. Although this might feel scary, it’s important to stay calm and breathe to center yourself if this happens.

The timeline for vertigo symptoms varies from person to person, but one episode generally lasts for only a few seconds or minutes. But for some, the sensation could last for several hours or even multiple days. Certain people may experience very mild, brief periods of vertigo while others have more unpredictable and severe cases. The length of an episode can vary greatly depending on the underlying cause.

Vertigo can be triggered by a variety of other health conditions, and adults ages 65 and older are particularly susceptible. Although there isn’t one primary cause, it’s commonly linked to issues with the ear, including problems with the inner ear, brain or sensory nerve pathway. It can also appear as a symptom of an ear infection or Ménière’s disease, which is an inner ear disorder. Three out of four cases of vertigo are tied to hearing disorders.

Tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, is related to problems with the inner ear’s vestibular system, just like hearing loss and balance issues. The buzzing, whistling or hissing sound that accompanies tinnitus is an indicator that something isn’t right within the auditory system.

Similar to vertigo, tinnitus is a sensation and symptom of another disease or issue—it’s not a disease in and of itself. People with tinnitus often have some form of hearing loss as well, but there isn’t evidence that tinnitus causes vertigo (even though they both stem from vestibular issues).

The short answer to this question is no. Although vertigo and hearing health issues are often related, hearing aids are not part of the equation. Medical experts have determined that hearing aids do not cause any known health issues and do not have negative side effects.

When you first get hearing aids, there is often an adjustment period of a few weeks. It takes your brain and central auditory system some time to get used to the new sounds and information it’s receiving. But once you settle into life with hearing aids and the vibrant listening experience, they offer, you’ll likely enjoy an improved social life, a new sense of confidence and many other benefits. Hearing aids don’t cause vertigo—but there’s a good chance they’ll cause life to get better.

Although vertigo can sometimes cause a loss of balance, hearing aids do not. In fact, a study from Washington University found that treating hearing loss with 1 hearing aid can actually improve balance. Receiving additional auditory signals appeared to help participants maintain stability. This evidence also suggested that older individuals in particular may benefit from a lower risk of falling associated with wearing hearing aids. So, can hearing aids cause vertigo? The answer is no—hearing aids don’t cause dizziness, spinning or a phantom sense of motion. Similarly, hearing aids don’t create balance problems.