“Why am I hearing a ringing noise in my ears?” “How can I make that sound go away?”
If you find yourself making these kinds of statements, you could be dealing with tinnitus, a common hearing problem where you hear noises or perceive a sound that other people can’t hear. This is more common than you might think. Millions of individuals have this disorder.
Ringing, buzzing, pulsing, or whistling 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 disregarded. Tinnitus symptoms can frequently be a sign of something more serious happening in your body.
Here are 6 tinnitus symptoms you need to take seriously.
1. The Ringing in Your Ears is Affecting The Quality of Your Life
26% of people who have tinnitus experience symptoms continuously, based on some studies.
Depression, anxiety, insomnia, and relationship issues are all possible repercussions of this ever present ringing.
Something as easy as listening to your daughter share a recipe over the phone becomes a battle between her voice and the noise that overpowers it. You may snap at your grandson, who simply asks a question, because the ringing stresses you out.
A vicious cycle can be the result of this constant ringing. The ringing gets louder as your stress level goes up. Loud noise makes you more nervous and so on.
If tinnitus is causing these types of life challenges, it’s time to address it. It’s there, and your life is being affected. The noise can be reduced or eliminated with obtainable treatment choices.
2. The Noise in Your Ears Starts After You Change Medications
Whether you have chronic back pain or cancer, doctors may try numerous different medications to deal with the same condition. Some of these will have side effects so extreme that you may want to ask about alternatives. If your tinnitus started or got significantly worse after you started a new drug, look at that list of side effects and talk to your doctor.
Tinnitus might be caused by some common medications. 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.
- Loop Diuretics
- Antibiotics
- Chemo
- Opioids (Pain Killers)
3. It Comes With Headache, Blurred Vision, or Seizures
This often means that your tinnitus symptoms are being triggered by high blood pressure. When you have hypertension, the flow of blood to your inner ear is compromised. Your general health is also at risk with high blood pressure. Age related hearing loss, as time passes, will get worse because of this.
4. You Only Hear it When Leaving a Gym, Concert, or Work
If you only hear the tinnitus when you leave a noisy place such as a factory, concert, aerobics class, or bar, then the place you just left had noise levels above safe levels. It becomes increasingly likely that these noises will become permanent the more frequently you ignore them and skip using ear protection. And it’s usually accompanied by hearing loss.
If you are going to be exposed to loud sound, use the following to safeguard your hearing:
- Wearing earplugs
- Not standing too close to the speakers
- At least once an hour, go outside or into the restroom to give your ears a break
Adhere to the rules pertaining to earmuffs and earplugs if you work in a loud setting. Your safety gear will only effectively protect you if you use it correctly.
5. You Also Have Facial Paralysis
Whether you have ringing in your ears or not, you should never dismiss facial paralysis. 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. You Experience Fluctuating Hearing Loss With it
Are you experiencing hearing loss that comes and goes? Do you feel dizzy off and on? When accompanied by tinnitus, this suggests you need to be screened for Meniere’s disease. This makes your ears get a fluid imbalance. Your risk of falling due to lack of balance will worsen if this condition is left untreated.
Tinnitus is frequently a sign of hearing loss. So if you are experiencing it, you should get your hearing examined more frequently. Give us a call to set up an appointment.