“What’s that ringing in my ears?” “How can I make that sound go away?”
You may be dealing with tinnitus, a common hearing disorder that manifests sounds in your ears that nobody else can hear, if you find yourself making these types of remarks. This is more common than you may think. Tinnitus is a disorder that impacts millions of individuals.
Ringing, pulsing, whistling, or buzzing are the noises that most people describe.
Depending on the intensity, ringing in the ears might seem harmless. But there are definitely times when you shouldn’t disregard it. Tinnitus symptoms can often be a sign of something more significant taking place in your body.
You should take the following 6 symptoms seriously.
1. Your Quality of Life is Being Affected by The Ringing in Your Ears
Some studies demonstrate that 26% of people with tinnitus cope with that ringing on an almost constant basis.
This irritating, ever-present noise can bring about all kinds of relationship troubles, anxiety, insomnia, and even depression.
It can be a battle between the tinnitus sound and something as basic as trying to hear your friend tell you a recipe over the phone. The constant ringing has stressed you out to the point where you snap at a family member who simply asks you a question.
A vicious cycle can be the result of this constant ringing. The ringing gets louder as your stress level goes up. And you get more anxious the louder the noise is and on and on.
If your tinnitus is leading to these types of life challenges, you shouldn’t ignore it. It’s there, and your life is being affected. The noise can be decreased or eliminated with available treatment choices.
2. The Noise in Your Ears Begins After You Switch Medications
Whether you have persistent back pain or cancer, doctors might try numerous different medications to deal with the same condition. You may ask for an alternative solution if you begin to experience severe side effects. If your tinnitus began or got seriously worse after you started a new drug, check that list of side effects and talk to your doctor.
Some common medications might cause tinnitus. Here are a few examples:
- Over-the-counter painkillers (Tylenol, Aleve, Advil, and even aspirin) when taken several times a day for an extended period of time.
- Antibiotics
- Loop Diuretics
- Opioids (Pain Killers)
- Chemo
3. Blurred Vision, Seizures, And Headache Come With Tinnitus Noises
This might be a sign that high blood pressure is contributing to your tinnitus. The blood flow in your inner ear is restricted when you have hypertension. High blood pressure that goes unmanaged is also dangerous for your overall health. Over time, it could cause or worsen age-related hearing loss.
4. You Only Hear it After You Leave a Gym, Concert, or Work
If you leave a noisy place like a bar, concert, factory, or fitness class, and you start to hear tinnitus noises, you were probably exposed to unsafe noise levels and that’s more than likely the cause of these noises. It becomes increasingly likely that these noises will become permanent the more frequently you ignore them and neglect using ear protection. And hearing loss will usually accompany it.
If you’re going to be exposed to loud sound, use the following to protect your hearing:
- Using earplugs
- At least once an hour, go outside or into the restroom to give your ears a break
- Standing a little further away from loud speakers
Follow the rules pertaining to earplugs and earmuffs if you work in a loud setting. 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 the tinnitus symptoms are come along with paralysis, headaches, and nausea, this may be a sign of a slow-growing benign brain tumor called an acoustic neuroma.
6. You Experience Fluctuating Hearing Loss With it
Do you have hearing loss that seems to get worse, then get better, then worse again? Are you sometimes dizzy? When accompanied by tinnitus, this suggests you need to be screened for Meniere’s disease. This leads to a fluid imbalance in your ears. If left without treatment, it often gets worse and might 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. Give us a call to make an appointment.