“What’s that annoying sound in my ears?” “Make that noise stop!”
You might be suffering from tinnitus, a common hearing disorder that manifests sounds in your ears that nobody else can hear, if you find yourself making these kinds of statements. You’re not by yourself. Millions of people have this disorder.
Ringing, pulsing, whistling, or buzzing are the sounds that most people describe.
Ringing in the ears might seem harmless, depending on its severity. But there are definitely times when you shouldn’t disregard it. Something more significant might be the root cause of these noises.
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, according to some studies.
This aggravating, ever-present noise can lead to all kinds of relationship issues, insomnia, anxiety, and even depression.
Something as basic as listening to your daughter share a recipe on the phone becomes a struggle between her voice and the noise that overshadows it. The constant ringing has stressed you out to the point where you snap at a family member who simply asks you a question.
Constant ringing can become a vicious cycle. As your stress level goes up, the ringing gets louder. And you get more anxious the louder the noise is and on and on.
If your tinnitus is leading to these types of life challenges, you shouldn’t neglect it. It’s real, and it affects 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 Manifests After You Switch Medications
Whether you have persistent back pain or cancer, doctors might try numerous different medications to deal with the same ailment. You may ask for an alternative solution if you start to experience severe side effects. If your tinnitus started or got seriously worse after you started a new drug, look at that list of side effects and speak with your doctor.
Tinnitus might be caused by some common medications. These include some forms of:
- Opioids (Pain Killers)
- Chemo
- 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
3. It Comes With Blurred Vision, Headache, or Seizures
This often indicates that your tinnitus symptoms are being triggered by high blood pressure. The blood circulation in your inner ear is compromised when you have hypertension. Your general health is also at risk with high blood pressure. 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 after you leave a loud place like a factory, concert, aerobics class, or bar, then the place you were just in had unsafe levels of noise. If you disregard this occasional tinnitus and don’t start to protect your ears, it will likely become constant over time. And hearing loss will usually accompany it.
If you’re going to be exposed to loud noise, use the following to protect your hearing:
- Giving your ears a regular break by going outside or into the restroom, if possible, at least once an hour
- Wearing earplugs
- Standing a bit further away from loud speakers
Adhere to the rules pertaining to earmuffs and earplugs if you work in a noisy environment. 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 regardless of whether you have ringing in your ears. But when you have nausea, paralysis, headaches, and you also have tinnitus, it’s possible that you might have an acoustic neuroma (a slow growing benign brain tumor).
6. You Experience Fluctuating Hearing Loss With it
Do you experience 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 evaluated for Meniere’s disease. This produces a fluid imbalance in your ears. Your risk of falling caused by lack of balance will get worse if this disorder is left untreated.
Tinnitus is frequently a sign of hearing loss. So you should get your hearing examined if you’re experiencing it. Give us a call to make an appointment.