“What’s that annoying sound in my ears?” “How can I make that sound go away?”
You could be dealing with tinnitus, a common hearing condition that manifests noises in your ears that nobody else can hear, if you find yourself making these types of remarks. You’re not by yourself. Millions of individuals have this disorder.
Ringing, pulsing, whistling, or buzzing are the sounds that the majority of people describe.
Depending on the intensity, ringing in the ears might seem harmless. But there are definitely times when you shouldn’t disregard it. Something more significant might be the underlying cause of these noises.
Here are 6 tinnitus symptoms you really should take seriously.
1. Your Quality of Life is Being Affected by The Ringing in Your Ears
26% of people who suffer from tinnitus experience symptoms continuously, according to some studies.
Depression, anxiety, insomnia, and relationship problems are all possible consequences of this ever present ringing.
Something as easy as listening to your daughter share a recipe on the phone becomes a battle between her voice and the noise that overpowers it. The constant ringing has stressed you out to the point where you snap at a family member who asks you a question.
Continuous ringing can become a vicious cycle. The ringing gets louder as your stress level goes up. And you get more stressed the louder the noise is and on and on.
If tinnitus is leading to these types of life challenges, it’s time to deal with it. It’s there, and your life is being affected. The noise can be reduced or eliminated with available treatment choices.
2. The Noise in Your Ears Starts After You Switch Medications
Doctors might try several different medications to manage the same ailment whether you have chronic pain or cancer. Some of these will have side effects so severe that you might want to ask about alternatives. If your tinnitus began or got seriously worse after you started a new medication, look at that list of side effects and speak with your doctor.
Some common medications may cause tinnitus. These include some forms of:
- Antibiotics
- Opioids (Pain Killers)
- Loop Diuretics
- Over-the-counter painkillers (Tylenol, Aleve, Advil, and even aspirin) when taken several times a day for an extended period of time.
- Chemo
3. It’s Accompanied by Headache, Blurred Vision, or Seizures
This often means that your tinnitus symptoms are being triggered by high blood pressure. When you have hypertension, the blood flow to your inner ear is restricted. Your overall health is also at risk with high blood pressure. Over time, it may cause or worsen age-related hearing loss.
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 setting such as a factory, concert, aerobics class, or bar, then the place you just left had noise levels above safe levels. If you neglect this occasional tinnitus and don’t start to protect your ears, it will most likely become permanent over time. And it’s commonly accompanied by hearing loss.
If you are going to be exposed to loud sound, use the following to safeguard your hearing:
- Using earplugs
- Standing a little further away from loud speakers
- At least once an hour, go outside or into the restroom to give your ears a break
If you work in a loud environment, adhere to work rules regarding earplugs and earmuffs. Your safety gear will only effectively protect you if you use it correctly.
5. You Also Have Facial Paralysis
We hope you wouldn’t ignore facial paralysis irrespective of whether you have ringing in your ears. But when you have paralysis, nausea, headaches, and you also have tinnitus, it’s possible that you may have an acoustic neuroma (a slow growing benign brain tumor).
6. Fluctuating Hearing Loss is Accompanying Tinnitus
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 means you need to be evaluated for Meniere’s disease. This causes your ears to ears get a fluid imbalance. If left untreated, it often gets worse and may increase your risks of significant falls due to lack of balance.
Hearing loss is often signaled by tinnitus. So you should have your hearing tested if you’re experiencing it. Contact us to set up an appointment.