“What’s that ringing in my ears?” “Make that noise stop!”
If you find yourself making these kinds of statements, you could have tinnitus, a common hearing condition where you hear noises or perceive a sound that others don’t hear. This is more common than you might think. Tinnitus is a condition that impacts millions of people.
Most describe it as ringing in the ears, but it can also sound like a dial tone, pulsing noise, whistling, or buzzing.
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 significant taking place in your body.
You should take the following 6 symptoms seriously.
1. The Ringing in Your Ears is Affecting The Quality of Your Life
26% of individuals who suffer from tinnitus cope with symptoms constantly, based on some studies.
This aggravating, ever-present noise can bring about all kinds of relationship troubles, anxiety, insomnia, and even depression.
It can be a struggle between the tinnitus sound and something as simple as attempting to hear your friend tell you a recipe over the phone. You may snap at your grandson, who simply asks a question, because the ringing makes you stressed.
A vicious cycle can be the result of this continuous ringing. The ringing gets louder as your stress level goes up. Loud noise makes you more nervous and so on.
If your tinnitus is contributing to these types of life struggles, you shouldn’t neglect it. It’s real, and it affects your quality of life. There are treatment options that can significantly reduce or get rid of the noise in your ears.
2. The Noise in Your Ears Manifests After You Change Medications
Doctors might try various different medications to manage the same ailment whether you have cancer or chronic pain. Some of these will have side effects so extreme that you might 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.
Some common medications may cause tinnitus. These include some forms of:
- 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
- Loop Diuretics
- Antibiotics
3. It Comes With Headache, Blurred Vision, or Seizures
This normally means that your tinnitus symptoms are being triggered by high blood pressure. When you have hypertension, the blood circulation to your inner ear is compromised. 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 only hear the tinnitus when you leave a noisy setting like a concert, aerobics class, factory, or bar, then the place you just left had unsafe levels of noise. If you disregard this episodic tinnitus and don’t begin to safeguard your ears, it will likely become permanent over time. And it’s frequently accompanied by hearing loss.
If you love a noisy night out, take precautions such as:
- Giving your ears a regular break by stepping outside or into the restroom, if possible, at least once every hour
- Using earplugs
- Not standing too close to the speakers
Follow the rules regarding earmuffs and earplugs if you work in a loud environment. They’re made 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 you have nausea, paralysis, 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 have 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 indicates you need to be tested for Meniere’s disease. This produces a fluid imbalance in your ears. If left without treatment, it often gets worse and might increase your risks of serious falls caused by lack of balance.
Hearing loss is frequently signaled by tinnitus. So you should have your hearing tested if you’re experiencing it. Get in touch with us to make an appointment for a hearing test.