Does Menopause Affect Your Hearing?What Studies Show
Menopause & HormonesArticleTurning up the TV more often in your fifties? A Korean study that tracked 4,448 women found hearing began to slip after the final period, faster in women with excess weight or high blood sugar. Whether hormone therapy helps is unclear: a Korean survey linked it with slightly better hearing, but a US study of 80,972 nurses linked longer use of hormone pills with more hearing loss. Here is what the research shows.
In this article
Hearing slowly changes with age for everyone. A few studies have asked whether menopause, and hormone therapy, change that path for women.
Hearing across the transition
A Korean study followed 4,448 women aged 42 to 52 with regular hearing tests, from years before their final period to years after.1
| Group | Share | Pattern |
|---|---|---|
| Group 1 | About 72% | Stable hearing until the final period, then a decline1 |
| Group 2 | About 28% | Poorer hearing from the start and a steeper decline1 |
Women in the steeper group were more likely to have overweight or obesity and high blood sugar.1 The authors linked the years after menopause with significant hearing decline.1
Does hormone therapy help or hurt?
The studies point in opposite directions:
| Study | Women | Finding |
|---|---|---|
| US nurses, followed up to 22 years | 80,972 | Longer use of hormone pills went with more self-reported hearing loss: about 15% higher risk at 5 to 10 years, 21% at 10 or more2 |
| Korean national survey, hearing tested once | 3,653 | Hormone therapy and longer lifetime estrogen exposure went with slightly better hearing, mostly at high pitches3 |
The US study relied on women’s own reports of hearing loss, and its link was with hormone pills.2 The Korean study measured hearing directly but only once, so it can’t show cause.3 Neither was a trial.
The US study also found later natural menopause, at 50 or older, went with about 10% higher risk than earlier menopause.2 Going through menopause itself wasn’t linked overall.2
What this means for you
- Get a hearing test if you notice changes; it gives you a baseline.
- Look after blood sugar and weight, which went with steeper decline in the Korean study.1
- Don’t start or stop hormone therapy for your hearing. The evidence doesn’t point one way.
- Sudden hearing loss in one or both ears needs urgent care.
For more on hormone decisions, see is menopause hormone therapy safe?
Try: “I’m 54, and I’ve noticed I’m asking people to repeat themselves more since menopause. Could I have a hearing test, and is there anything about my health that could be speeding it up?”
My Body Changed. Now What? covers sorting new changes in Chapter 3, “Isn’t This Just Aging?” Its Visit Brief asks for your top three changes and their impact, so a hearing change gets its own line rather than being waved off as age. See the book.
This article is for general educational purposes only and is not medical advice. It isn't a substitute for diagnosis or treatment from a qualified healthcare professional who knows your health history. Get urgent care for sudden hearing loss in one or both ears. See a doctor for hearing loss in one ear, ringing with dizziness, ear pain or discharge. Hormone therapy is not a treatment for hearing loss. Girl Playbook does not endorse any specific product, test, or provider.
Girl Playbook sells this book. It provides education and worksheets, not individualized medical care.
Sources
The research behind this article, in the order it’s cited. How we source our articles.
- Maturitas journal (abstract via PubMed), 2025Hearing changes and trajectories during the menopausal transition and their association with metabolic factors (opens in a new tab)abcdef
- Menopause journal (via PubMed Central), 2017Menopause and postmenopausal hormone therapy and risk of hearing loss (opens in a new tab)abcd
- Clinical Otolaryngology (abstract via PubMed), 2021Effects of endogenous and exogenous oestrogen exposure on hearing level in postmenopausal women: A cross-sectional study (opens in a new tab)ab
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