“Why do I hear a ringing noise in my ears?” “How can I make that sound go away?”
If you find yourself making these kinds of statements, you might be dealing with tinnitus, a common hearing issue that causes you to hear noises or experience a sound that others can’t hear. This is more common than you might think. Tinnitus is a disorder that impacts millions of people.
Ringing, buzzing, pulsing, or whistling are the noises that the majority of people describe.
Depending on the intensity, ringing in the ears may seem harmless. But there are absolutely times when you shouldn’t disregard it. Tinnitus symptoms can frequently be a sign of something more significant taking place in your body.
You need to take the following 6 symptoms 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, based on some studies.
This irritating, ever-present noise can lead to all kinds of relationship issues, insomnia, anxiety, and even depression.
It can be a battle between the tinnitus noise and something as simple as attempting 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 member of the family who asks you a question.
Continuous ringing can cause a vicious cycle. 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 contributing to these types of life challenges, you shouldn’t ignore it. It’s there, and your life is being affected. There are treatment choices that can significantly reduce or get rid of the noise in your ears.
2. After You Changed Medications, Your Ears Started to Ring
Doctors may try several different medications to treat the same condition whether you have chronic pain or cancer. Some of these will have side effects so significant that you may want to ask about alternate options. Contact your doctor and determine what the side effects are if you began experiencing tinnitus symptoms after starting a new medication.
Some common medications might cause tinnitus. Here are a few examples:
- Antibiotics
- Loop Diuretics
- 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.
- Chemo
3. Headache, Seizures, And Blurred Vision Come With Tinnitus Noises
This may be a sign that high blood pressure is creating your tinnitus. The blood circulation in your inner ear is compromised when you suffer from hypertension. Unregulated high blood pressure is also dangerous for your total health. Age related hearing loss, over time, will get worse 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 concert, aerobics class, factory, or bar, then the place you were just in had noise levels above safe levels. If you disregard this occasional tinnitus and don’t start to safeguard your ears, it will most likely become permanent over time. And it’s commonly accompanied by hearing loss.
If you love a loud night out, take precautions such as:
- Not standing too close to the speakers
- Giving your ears a regular break by going into the restroom or outside, if possible, at least once every hour
- Wearing earplugs
If you work in a noisy environment, adhere to work rules pertaining to 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 disregard facial paralysis regardless of whether you have ringing in your ears. But when the tinnitus symptoms are accompanied by headaches, paralysis, and nausea, this might be a sign of a slow-growing benign brain tumor called an acoustic neuroma.
6. Fluctuating Hearing Loss is Accompanying Tinnitus
Are you experiencing hearing loss that comes and goes? Do you feel dizzy off and on? If these symptoms are occurring along with tinnitus, you may need to get evaluated for Menier’s disease. This produces a fluid imbalance in your ears. If left without treatment, it frequently gets worse and may increase your risks of serious falls due to lack of balance.
Tinnitus is often a sign of hearing loss. So if you are experiencing it, you need to have your hearing checked more frequently. Contact us to set up an appointment.