Women, Aging and Hearing Health: What Should Be on Your Radar?
Updated: 2 hours ago
By Michele DiStefano, AuD, CCC/A, Director of Audiology
There’s a lot of conversation today about healthy aging for women, from bone and heart health to sleep, exercise, and cognitive wellness. I’d like to add another important area to that list: your hearing and balance health.
As we age, changes in hearing are common for everyone. But women may experience hearing changes, tinnitus, and balance concerns beginning in their 40s. Tinnitus, the perception of ringing, buzzing, or other sounds when no external sound is present, becomes more common with changes in hormonal levels. Dizziness and balance problems can occur as well, sometimes as the result of a vestibular condition or from the reduction of estrogen in the body due to perimenopause or menopause.
A published study in ScienceDirect suggests estrogen normally helps protect women from age-related hearing loss, so as estrogen declines during this transition, that protection fades. Menopause has also been associated with cognitive changes, including memory lapses and attentional difficulties, with symptoms often emerging during perimenopause. Research shows that untreated hearing loss is associated with an increased chance of cognitive decline, making it all the more important to get your hearing checked during those perimenopause years.
These symptoms shouldn't simply be dismissed as “part of getting older.”
Hearing changes as we age
Age-related hearing loss typically develops gradually, which means you may not recognize it right away. You might notice that you’re asking people to repeat themselves more often, having trouble following conversations in restaurants or other noisy environments, or turning up the television. The increased difficulties following conversations with friends and family at a restaurant are directly related to how well you are hearing and processing what’s being said.
I encourage adults not to wait until hearing difficulties are interfering with everyday life to have their hearing evaluated. At CHC, we recommend making hearing health part of your routine health care as you age.
What about tinnitus and dizziness?
Tinnitus is also increasingly common as our bodies age. And interestingly, new research continues to help us better understand the relationship between hearing, tinnitus, balance, and the aging female body.
A 2026 population-based study of more than 7,600 adults aged 40 and older found that people with more bothersome tinnitus were more likely to report dizziness or balance problems. That doesn’t mean tinnitus causes dizziness. Both symptoms can have many different causes. But it does reinforce something audiologists see every day: hearing and balance are interconnected, and changes deserve attention.
Put hearing on your healthy-aging checklist
If you notice changes in your hearing, tinnitus, dizziness, or imbalance, talk with your physician rather than assuming it's simply something you have to live with as you get older. Your doctor can help determine whether further medical or vestibular evaluation is appropriate.
“I talk to women at all stages of life about how to age well. Diet, exercise, sleep, and preventive health screenings like mammograms, colonoscopy, and hearing tests can make a real difference. Hearing health belongs up there with heart health and brain health when we talk about how to age well. This should be a discussion at every well-woman visit,” says Dr. Shari Brasner, New York City-based OB/GYN.
And even if you haven't noticed a problem, get your hearing tested. A baseline hearing evaluation gives you and your audiologist valuable information and makes it easier to identify changes over time.
We talk a lot about what women can do to stay healthy, active, and connected as we age. Hearing health belongs in that conversation, too.
Your brain and overall wellness will thank you.
