Does Your Sense of Hearing “Turn Off” When You Sleep?
When your head hits the pillow at night, your body begins its nightly routine of rest and repair. Your heart rate slows, muscles relax, and brain activity shifts. But what about our hearing, does it “sleep” too?
Our Hearing Never Fully “Turns Off”
Unlike your eyes, which close and block out light, our hearing remains sensitive to noises, even while we sleep. We continue to pick up sounds from our environment, a barking dog, passing car, or the hum of a fan. The outer ear, middle ear, and cochlea all keep working, detecting and transmitting sound waves as usual.
So why don’t all those noises keep us awake at night?
The Brain Takes Over
What changes during sleep isn’t our ears’ ability to detect sound, but how our brain processes it.
As we move through different sleep stages, especially deep sleep, our brain becomes less responsive to external sounds. In essence, our brain “turns down the volume” on incoming noises in order to rest, unless it detects something it considers important, like a baby crying or a smoke alarm.
This is why many parents can sleep through a thunderstorm but wake immediately when their child cries out.
Sleep and Tinnitus: Why It’s Louder at Night
For people who experience tinnitus, a ringing, or high-pitched humming in the ears, nighttime can be particularly challenging. With fewer external sounds to distract and mask the noise, tinnitus can feel louder and more noticeable when you're trying to fall asleep.
Tips for sleeping with tinnitus:
Use a white noise machine or soft music to mask sounds.
Avoid caffeine and exposure to loud noises in the evening that may aggravate the condition.
Talk to a hearing healthcare provider about tinnitus management tools.
How Hearing Loss Affects Sleep
Studies have found that untreated hearing loss may be linked to poorer sleep quality. People with hearing loss might struggle with:
Increased mental fatigue
Higher stress levels
Disrupted sleep from straining to hear during the day
Good sleep and good hearing health go hand in hand, supporting both your physical and cognitive wellbeing.
Is Your Hearing Still Active During Sleep?
Our hearing is always active, but it’s our brain that decides what to tune out and what to wake up for. Protecting your hearing during the day and creating a calm, quiet environment at night are both important parts of staying healthy.
If you feel like you are struggling to hear, or have concerns about your hearing health, our Audiology Team at HEAR Wisconsin is here to help. Give us a call 414-604-7219 to schedule your hearing evaluation today.