“Why am I hearing a ringing noise in my ears?” “Why won’t that noise stop?”
You might be dealing with tinnitus, a common hearing condition that manifests noises in your ears that nobody else can hear, if you find yourself making these kinds of remarks. This is more common than you may think. Tinnitus is a condition that affects millions of individuals.
Most describe it as ringing in the ears, but it can also sound like a pulsing noise, a dial tone, whistling, or buzzing.
Depending on the intensity, ringing in the ears may seem harmless. But tinnitus shouldn’t always be ignored. Something more significant might be the root cause of these sounds.
You should take the following 6 symptoms seriously.
1. The Ringing in Your Ears is Affecting The Quality of Your Life
Some research suggests that 26% of tinnitus sufferers cope with that ringing on a nearly continuous basis.
Depression, anxiety, insomnia, and relationship problems are all possible consequences of this ever present ringing.
It can be a struggle between the tinnitus noise and something as basic as trying to hear your friend give 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 simply asks you a question.
Continuous ringing can cause a vicious cycle. As your stress level rises, the ringing gets louder. Loud noise makes you more anxious and so on.
If your tinnitus is contributing to these kinds of life struggles, you shouldn’t neglect it. It’s real, and it impacts your quality of life. The noise can be reduced or eliminated with obtainable treatment choices.
2. After You Switched Medications, Your Ears Began to Ring
Whether you have persistent back pain or cancer, doctors might try numerous different medications to treat the same ailment. Some of these will have side effects so significant that you may want to ask about alternate options. Contact your doctor and determine what the side effects are if you started experiencing tinnitus symptoms after starting a new medication.
Some common medications may cause tinnitus. Here are a few examples:
- Opioids (Pain Killers)
- Chemo
- Antibiotics
- Over-the-counter painkillers (Tylenol, Aleve, Advil, and even aspirin) when taken several times a day for an extended period of time.
- Loop Diuretics
3. Headache, Seizures, And Blurred Vision Come With Tinnitus Noises
This may be a sign that high blood pressure is triggering your tinnitus. When you have hypertension, the blood flow to your inner ear is compromised. Unregulated high blood pressure is also a risk to your total health. As time passes, it may cause or worsen age-related hearing loss.
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 factory, concert, aerobics class, or bar, then the place you were just in had noise levels above safe levels. If you disregard this occasional tinnitus and don’t start to protect your ears, it will most likely become constant over time. And it’s frequently accompanied by hearing loss.
If you enjoy a loud night out, take precautions like:
- Wearing earplugs
- Giving your ears a regular break by going outside or into the restroom, if possible, at least once every hour
- Standing a little further away from loud speakers
Follow the rules regarding earplugs and earmuffs if you work in a noisy setting. They’re designed to protect you, but they only work if you wear protective gear correctly.
5. You Also Have Facial Paralysis
We hope you wouldn’t ignore facial paralysis irrespective 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 may have an acoustic neuroma (a slow growing benign brain tumor).
6. Fluctuating Hearing Loss is Accompanying Tinnitus
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 screened for Meniere’s disease. This makes your ears get a fluid imbalance. If left untreated, it frequently gets worse and may increase your risks of significant falls caused by lack of balance.
Hearing loss is often signaled by tinnitus. So you should get your hearing tested if you’re experiencing it. Call us to set up an appointment.