“Why do I hear a ringing noise in my ears?” “How can I make that sound go away?”
You may be dealing with tinnitus, a common hearing affliction that manifests sounds in your ears that no one else can hear, if you find yourself making these kinds of remarks. This is more common than you may think. Millions of people have this disorder.
Ringing, buzzing, pulsing, or whistling are the noises that the majority of people describe.
Depending on the severity, ringing in the ears might seem harmless. But tinnitus shouldn’t always be ignored. Tinnitus symptoms can often be a sign of something more serious happening 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
26% of people who have tinnitus experience symptoms continuously, according to some studies.
Depression, anxiety, insomnia, and relationship problems are all possible consequences of this ever present ringing.
It can be a struggle between the tinnitus sound 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 asks you a question.
Continuous ringing can become a vicious cycle. As your stress level rises, 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 kinds of life struggles, you shouldn’t ignore it. It’s real, and it impacts your quality of life. The noise can be reduced or eliminated with obtainable treatment options.
2. After You Changed Medications, Your Ears Started to Ring
Whether you have chronic back pain or cancer, doctors may try numerous different medications to manage the same ailment. You might ask for an alternative if you start to experience severe side effects. Contact your doctor and learn what the side effects are if you started experiencing tinnitus symptoms after starting a new medication.
Some common medications might cause tinnitus. These include some forms of:
- 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
- Chemo
- Opioids (Pain Killers)
3. Headache, Seizures, And Blurred Vision Come With Tinnitus Noises
This may be a sign that high blood pressure is causing your tinnitus. When you have hypertension, the blood circulation to your inner ear is restricted. Unregulated high blood pressure is also dangerous for your general health. Age related hearing loss, over time, 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 noisy place like a factory, concert, aerobics class, or bar, then the place you just left 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 it’s usually accompanied by hearing loss.
If you enjoy a noisy night out, take precautions such as:
- Wearing earplugs
- Giving your ears a periodic break by stepping into the restroom or outside, if possible, at least once an hour
- Standing a little further away from loud speakers
If you work in a noisy environment, follow work rules pertaining to 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
We hope you wouldn’t dismiss facial paralysis irrespective of whether you have ringing in your ears. But when the tinnitus symptoms are accompanied by paralysis, headaches, and nausea, this may 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? Do you feel dizzy off and on? If these symptoms are happening along with tinnitus, you may need to get screened for Menier’s disease. This leads to a fluid imbalance in your ears. If left untreated, it often gets worse and might increase your risks of significant falls caused by lack of balance.
Tinnitus is frequently a sign of hearing loss. So if you are experiencing it, you need to have your hearing examined more frequently. Get in touch with us to make an appointment for a hearing test.