“Why am I hearing a ringing noise in my ears?” “How can I make that sound go away?”
You might be suffering from tinnitus, a common hearing affliction that manifests sounds in your ears that nobody else can hear, if you find yourself making these kinds of remarks. You’re not by yourself. Tinnitus is a condition that impacts millions of people.
Ringing, buzzing, pulsing, or whistling are the sounds that the majority of people describe.
Depending on the intensity, ringing in the ears may seem harmless. But there are definitely times when you shouldn’t ignore it. Something more significant might be the underlying 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 individuals who have tinnitus experience symptoms constantly, based on some studies.
Depression, anxiety, insomnia, and relationship problems are all possible repercussions of this ever present ringing.
It can be a struggle between the tinnitus sound and something as basic as trying to hear your friend tell you a recipe over the phone. The nonstop 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 goes up, the ringing gets louder. 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 real, and it impacts your quality of life. There are treatment options that can significantly reduce or eliminate the noise in your ears.
2. The Noise in Your Ears Starts After You Change Medications
Whether you have persistent back pain or cancer, doctors may try several different medications to treat the same ailment. You might ask for a different option if you begin to experience severe side effects. 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 might cause tinnitus. These include some forms of:
- Loop Diuretics
- Antibiotics
- Over-the-counter painkillers (Tylenol, Aleve, Advil, and even aspirin) when taken several times a day for an extended period of time.
- Chemo
- Opioids (Pain Killers)
3. Headache, Seizures, And Blurred Vision Come With Tinnitus Noises
This might be a sign that high blood pressure is causing your tinnitus. When you have hypertension, the blood circulation to your inner ear is restricted. Your overall health is also in danger with high blood pressure. Age related hearing loss, over time, will get worse because of this.
4. You Only Hear it After You Leave a Concert, Gym, or Work
If you only hear the tinnitus after you leave a noisy place like a factory, concert, aerobics class, or bar, then the place you were just in had unsafe levels of noise. If you ignore this occasional tinnitus and don’t begin to protect your ears, it will likely become permanent over time. And hearing loss will probably accompany it.
If you love a noisy night out, take precautions such as:
- At least once an hour, go outside or into the restroom to give your ears a break
- Wearing earplugs
- Not standing too close to the speakers
If you work in a loud place, adhere to work rules pertaining to earplugs and earmuffs. They’re made to protect you, but they only work if you wear protective gear correctly.
5. You Also Have Facial Paralysis
Whether you have ringing in your ears or not, you should never dismiss facial paralysis. But when the tinnitus symptoms are come along with headaches, paralysis, and nausea, this might be a sign of a slow-growing benign brain tumor called an acoustic neuroma.
6. You Experience Fluctuating Hearing Loss With it
Are you experiencing hearing loss that comes and goes? 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. Your risk of falling caused by lack of balance will get worse if this condition is left untreated.
Hearing loss is often signaled by tinnitus. So you should have your hearing checked if you’re experiencing it. Get in touch with us to make an appointment for a hearing test.