“Why do I hear 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 kinds of statements. You’re not by yourself. Millions of individuals have this disorder.
Ringing, pulsing, whistling, or buzzing are the noises that most people describe.
Depending on the severity, ringing in the ears might seem harmless. But there are absolutely times when you shouldn’t disregard it. Tinnitus symptoms can often be a sign of something more serious taking place in your body.
You should take the following 6 symptoms seriously.
1. Your Quality of Life is Being Affected by The Ringing in Your Ears
Some research indicates that 26% of tinnitus sufferers experience that ringing on a nearly constant basis.
This irritating, ever-present noise can bring about all kinds of relationship issues, anxiety, insomnia, and even depression.
It can be a battle between the tinnitus noise and something as basic as trying to hear your friend tell you a recipe over the phone. You may snap at your grandson, who asks a simple question, because the ringing makes you stressed.
Continuous ringing can become a vicious cycle. The ringing gets louder as your stress level goes up. Loud noise makes you more anxious and so on.
If tinnitus is leading to these kinds of life challenges, it’s time to deal with it. It’s real, and it affects your quality of life. The noise can be decreased or eliminated with obtainable treatment options.
2. After You Changed Medications, Your Ears Started to Ring
Whether you have persistent back pain or cancer, doctors may try numerous different medications to manage the same condition. You might ask for a different option if you begin to experience severe side effects. If your tinnitus started or got seriously worse after you started a new medication, check that list of side effects and speak with your doctor.
Some common medications may cause tinnitus. 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.
- Antibiotics
- Loop Diuretics
3. Blurred Vision, Seizures, And Headache Come With Tinnitus Noises
This often means that your tinnitus symptoms are being caused by high blood pressure. When you have hypertension, the blood flow to your inner ear is compromised. Your overall health is also in danger 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 when you leave a loud place such as a concert, aerobics class, factory, or bar, then the place you just left had unsafe levels of noise. It becomes increasingly likely that these noises will become permanent the more often you disregard them and skip using ear protection. And it’s commonly accompanied by hearing loss.
If you are going to be exposed to loud noise, use the following to protect your hearing:
- At least once every 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 noisy environment, follow work rules regarding earplugs and earmuffs. They’re designed 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 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. Fluctuating Hearing Loss is Accompanying Tinnitus
Do you experience hearing loss that seems to worsen, then get better, then worse again? Are you sometimes dizzy? When accompanied by tinnitus, this suggests you need to be evaluated for Meniere’s disease. This produces a fluid imbalance in your ears. If left without treatment, it frequently gets worse and might increase your risks of significant falls caused by lack of balance.
Tinnitus is often a sign of hearing loss. So you should have your hearing tested if you’re experiencing it. Contact us to make an appointment.