The Effect of Psoriasis Goes Beyond Your Skin

The word psoriasis usually conjures up recollections of people with skin issues like the people on all those commercials. Psoriasis goes beyond skin problems and truly impacts your overall health. Psoriasis is commonly misunderstood and minimized, due to a lack of knowledge of how psoriasis impacts sufferers as well as the serious conditions that can be related to this disorder. Psoriasis causes reactions through the whole body despite the fact that skin plaques are the most recognizable sign: The chance of metabolic problems that are increased by persistent irritation and cardiovascular disease.

Psoriasis is also linked to another issue according to a different recent study: Hearing loss.

Published in The Journal of Rheumatology, The connection between hearing impairment, mental health, and psoriatic arthritis were looked at in this research. Psoriatic arthritis is a type of psoriasis where inflammation is concentrated around the joints, causing inflammation, difficulty with movement, and soreness. Sufferers may also suffer from psoriasis, but with psoriatic arthritis, it’s possible to have swelling without also experiencing the common plaques.

With psoriatic arthritis, the body is essentially attacking its own healthy cells like it does with rheumatoid arthritis because they are all autoimmune illnesses. But psoriatic arthritis varies from rheumatoid arthritis in that it’s frequently asymmetrical (so you could have it in one knee but not the other), and it doesn’t only target joints but contributes to painfully swollen fingers and toes while it targets sufferer’s nails and eyes.

Based on the findings of this recent study, hearing may also be affected by psoriatic arthritis. A significant control group of people with neither psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis were compared to people who had one or the other problem. They found that the group with psoriatic arthritis was more likely to have hearing loss, and audiometric screening supported the self-reports. Even when other risk factors are taken into consideration, people diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis were significantly more likely to have loss of hearing than either {the control group or psoriasis sufferers}.

But there is an evident connection between psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis and hearing loss. A 2015 study discovered that people who have been diagnosed with psoriasis are at a substantially higher risk of getting sudden sensorineural loss of hearing, or sudden deafness. With sudden sensorineural hearing loss, people’s ability to hear decreases substantially in three days or less. There are several potential causes for this, but researchers think that sudden psoriasis flare-ups might be the cause. The hearing may be impaired if this happens around or in the cochlea. This type of hearing loss, in many situations, can be aided by treatments that alleviate psoriasis., but hearing aids are often recommended when sudden deafness doesn’t respond to other treatments.

If you have psoriatic arthritis or psoriasis, it’s essential to observe your hearing. Schedule your yearly healthcare appointment along with regular hearing exams. Disease caused by inflammation can lead to damage of the inner ear, which can result in loss of balance and psoriatic arthritis. There are also connections between psoriatic arthritis and psoriasis, depression and anxiety, both of which can be further exacerbated by hearing loss. Loss of hearing is something you want to detect early because untreated hearing loss can lead to other health concerns like dementia.

With early treatment, you can stay in front of the symptoms by having your hearing checked regularly and working with your doctor, knowledge is essential. You shouldn’t need to sacrifice your standard of living for psoriasis or for hearing loss, and having the right team on your side can make a big difference.