“Why do I hear a ringing noise in my ears?” “How can I make that noise go away?”
You might be suffering from tinnitus, a common hearing affliction that manifests sounds in your ears that no one else can hear, if you find yourself making these types of remarks. This is more common than you might think. Millions of people have this disorder.
Ringing, pulsing, whistling, or buzzing are the sounds that the majority of people describe.
Depending on the severity, ringing in the ears might seem harmless. But tinnitus shouldn’t always be neglected. Something more significant may be the underlying cause of these noises.
You need to take the following 6 symptoms seriously.
1. The Ringing in Your Ears is Affecting The Quality of Your Life
26% of people who suffer from tinnitus cope with symptoms constantly, according to some studies.
Depression, anxiety, insomnia, and relationship problems are all possible outcomes of this ever present ringing.
It can be a struggle between the tinnitus sound and something as simple as attempting to hear your friend give you a recipe over the phone. You might snap at your grandson, who asks a simple question, because the ringing stresses you out.
A vicious cycle can be the outcome of this constant ringing. As your stress level rises, the ringing gets louder. And you get more stressed the louder the noise is and on and on.
If your tinnitus is leading to these types of life challenges, you shouldn’t neglect it. It’s real, and it affects your quality of life. There are treatment options that can considerably reduce or get rid of the noise in your ears.
2. The Noise in Your Ears Starts After You Switch Medications
Whether you have persistent back pain or cancer, doctors may try several different medications to deal with the same condition. Some of these will have side effects so severe that you might want to ask about alternatives. If your tinnitus began or got significantly worse after you started a new medication, look at that list of side effects and speak with your doctor.
Some common medications might cause tinnitus. Here are a few examples:
- Chemo
- Loop Diuretics
- Antibiotics
- Opioids (Pain Killers)
- Over-the-counter painkillers (Tylenol, Aleve, Advil, and even aspirin) when taken several times a day for an extended period of time.
3. Headache, Seizures, And Blurred Vision Come With Tinnitus Noises
This often indicates that your tinnitus symptoms are being caused by high blood pressure. When you have hypertension, the flow of blood to your inner ear is restricted. High blood pressure that goes unmanaged is also a risk to your total health. Age related hearing loss, over time, will worsen because of this.
4. You Always Seem to be Leaving Work, The Gym, or a Concert When You Hear it
If you only hear the tinnitus after you leave a noisy place like a factory, concert, aerobics class, or bar, then the place you were just in had unsafe levels of noise. If you disregard this episodic tinnitus and don’t start to protect your ears, it will most likely become constant over time. And it’s frequently accompanied by hearing loss.
If you love a noisy night out, take precautions like:
- Wearing earplugs
- At least once every hour, step outside or into the restroom to give your ears a break
- Not standing too close to the speakers
If you work in a noisy environment, follow work rules pertaining to earplugs and earmuffs. They’re designed to protect you, but they only work if you use protective gear correctly.
5. You Also Have Facial Paralysis
Whether you have ringing in your ears or not, you should never disregard facial paralysis. But when you have nausea, paralysis, headaches, and you also have tinnitus, it’s possible that you may have an acoustic neuroma (a slow growing benign brain tumor).
6. You Experience Fluctuating Hearing Loss With it
Do you experience hearing loss that seems to get worse, then get better, then worse again? Do you feel dizzy off and on? When accompanied by tinnitus, this indicates you need to be tested for Meniere’s disease. This produces a fluid imbalance in your ears. If left without treatment, it often gets worse and may increase your risks of significant falls due to lack of balance.
Hearing loss is frequently signaled by tinnitus. So if you are experiencing it, you need to have your hearing checked more frequently. Reach out to us to make an appointment for a hearing test.