“Why am I hearing a ringing noise in my ears?” “How can I make that noise go away?”
You may be dealing with tinnitus, a common hearing condition that manifests noises 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, buzzing, pulsing, or whistling are the sounds that most people describe.
Ringing in the ears might seem harmless, depending on its intensity. But there are definitely times when you shouldn’t neglect it. Something more significant may be the root cause of these noises.
You should take the following 6 symptoms seriously.
1. Your Quality of Life is Being Affected by The Ringing in Your Ears
26% of people who have tinnitus cope with symptoms continuously, based on some studies.
Depression, anxiety, insomnia, and relationship problems are all possible outcomes of this ever present ringing.
It can be a battle between the tinnitus sound and something as basic as attempting to hear your friend give you a recipe over the phone. You might snap at your grandchild, who asks a simple 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 rises. And you get more stressed the louder the noise is and on and on.
If your tinnitus is contributing to these kinds of life challenges, you shouldn’t neglect it. It’s there, and your life is being affected. There are treatment options that can considerably reduce or get rid of the noise in your ears.
2. The Noise in Your Ears Begins After You Change Medications
Doctors may try several different medications to manage the same ailment whether you have chronic pain or cancer. You might ask for an alternative solution if you start to experience significant side effects. If your tinnitus started or got seriously worse after you started a new medication, look at that list of side effects and talk to your doctor.
Tinnitus may 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.
- Antibiotics
- Opioids (Pain Killers)
- Chemo
- Loop Diuretics
3. It’s Accompanied by Blurred Vision, Headache, or Seizures
This might be a sign that high blood pressure is creating your tinnitus. When you have hypertension, the blood circulation to your inner ear is restricted. High blood pressure that goes unmanaged is also a risk to your overall health. Age related hearing loss, as time passes, will worsen because of this.
4. You Always Seem to be Leaving Work, The Gym, or a Concert When You Hear it
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 levels of noise and that’s most likely the cause of these noises. It becomes increasingly likely that these noises will become irreversible the more often you ignore them and skip using ear protection. And it’s usually accompanied by hearing loss.
If you love a noisy night out, take precautions such as:
- Wearing earplugs
- Giving your ears a periodic break by going outside or into the restroom, if possible, at least once every hour
- Not standing too close to the speakers
Adhere to the rules regarding earplugs and earmuffs 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
We hope you wouldn’t dismiss 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. 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 means you need to be tested for Meniere’s disease. This causes a fluid imbalance in your ears. If left untreated, it frequently gets worse and might increase your risks of serious falls due to lack of balance.
Hearing loss is often signaled by tinnitus. So you should get your hearing examined if you’re experiencing it. Reach out to us to make an appointment for a hearing test.