“What’s that annoying sound in my ears?” “How can I make that sound go away?”
If you find yourself making these kinds of statements, you could be dealing with tinnitus, a common hearing issue that causes you to hear noises or perceive a sound that other people can’t hear. This is more common than you might think. Tinnitus is a disorder that impacts millions of people.
Ringing, pulsing, whistling, or buzzing are the sounds that the majority of people describe.
Ringing in the ears may seem harmless, depending on its intensity. But tinnitus shouldn’t always be neglected. Tinnitus symptoms can often be a sign of something more serious taking place in your body.
You need to take the following 6 symptoms seriously.
1. Your Quality of Life is Being Affected by The Ringing in Your Ears
Some studies indicate that 26% of people with tinnitus cope with that ringing on an almost continuous basis.
Depression, anxiety, insomnia, and relationship troubles are all possible outcomes of this ever present ringing.
Something as basic as listening to your daughter share a recipe on the phone becomes a battle between her voice and the noise that overshadows it. The nonstop ringing has stressed you out to the point where you snap at a family member who simply asks you a question.
A vicious cycle can be the result of this continuous ringing. The ringing gets louder as your stress level goes up. Loud noise makes you more nervous and so on.
If tinnitus is leading to these kinds of life challenges, it’s time to address it. It’s real, and it impacts your quality of life. There are treatment choices that can considerably reduce or eliminate the noise in your ears.
2. After You Switched Medications, Your Ears Began to Ring
Whether you have persistent back pain or cancer, doctors might try several different medications to manage the same ailment. You might ask for a different option if you start to experience significant side effects. If your tinnitus began or got seriously worse after you started a new drug, look at that list of side effects and talk to your doctor.
Tinnitus may be caused by some common medications. Here are a few examples:
- Chemo
- Opioids (Pain Killers)
- 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. Blurred Vision, Seizures, And Headache 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 compromised. Your general 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 When Leaving a Gym, Concert, or Work
If you only hear the tinnitus when you leave a noisy setting like a factory, concert, aerobics class, or bar, then the place you just left had unsafe levels of noise. If you neglect this occasional tinnitus and don’t begin to protect your ears, it will likely become permanent over time. And hearing loss will usually accompany it.
If you’re going to be exposed to loud noise, use the following to safeguard your hearing:
- Giving your ears a regular break by stepping into the restroom or outside, if possible, at least once every hour
- Wearing earplugs
- Not standing too close to the speakers
Follow the rules regarding earmuffs and earplugs if you work in a noisy setting. Your safety gear will only successfully protect you if you use it correctly.
5. You Also Have Facial Paralysis
Whether you have ringing in your ears or not, you should never disregard facial paralysis. But when the tinnitus symptoms are accompanied by headaches, paralysis, and nausea, this might be a sign of a slow-growing benign brain tumor called an acoustic neuroma.
6. Fluctuating Hearing Loss is Accompanying Tinnitus
Do you have hearing loss that seems to worsen, then get better, then worse again? Are you sometimes dizzy? If these symptoms are happening along with tinnitus, you might need to get tested for Menier’s disease. This produces a fluid imbalance in your ears. If left untreated, it often gets worse and may increase your risks of serious falls caused by lack of balance.
Hearing loss is often signaled by tinnitus. So if you’re experiencing it, you need to get your hearing checked more frequently. Give us a call to set up an appointment.