“Why do I hear a ringing noise in my ears?” “How can I make that noise go away?”
You might be dealing with tinnitus, a common hearing disorder that manifests sounds in your ears that no one else can hear, if you find yourself making these types of remarks. This is more common than you might think. Millions of people have this disorder.
Most describe it as ringing in the ears, but it can also sound like a pulsing noise, a dial tone, whistling, or buzzing.
Ringing in the ears may seem harmless, depending on its severity. But tinnitus shouldn’t always be disregarded. Something more significant may be the root cause of these sounds.
Here are 6 tinnitus symptoms you need to take seriously.
1. The Ringing in Your Ears is Affecting The Quality of Your Life
26% of individuals who have tinnitus experience symptoms continuously, based on some studies.
This aggravating, ever-present noise can bring about all kinds of relationship troubles, insomnia, anxiety, and even depression.
It can be a battle between the tinnitus sound and something as simple as trying to hear your friend tell you a recipe over the phone. The constant ringing has stressed you out to the point where you snap at a family member who asks you a question.
A vicious cycle can be the result of this continuous ringing. As your stress level goes up, the ringing gets louder. And you get more stressed the louder the noise is and on and on.
If tinnitus is causing these types of life challenges, it’s time to address 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. After You Switched Medications, Your Ears Began to Ring
Doctors might try numerous different medications to manage the same condition whether you have chronic pain or cancer. You might ask for an alternative if you start to experience significant side effects. Consult with your doctor and learn what the side effects are if you began experiencing tinnitus symptoms after starting a new medication.
Tinnitus might be caused by some common medications. Here are a few examples:
- Loop Diuretics
- Opioids (Pain Killers)
- Antibiotics
- Chemo
- Over-the-counter painkillers (Tylenol, Aleve, Advil, and even aspirin) when taken several times a day for an extended period of time.
3. It Comes With Headache, Blurred Vision, or Seizures
This may be a sign that high blood pressure is contributing to your tinnitus. When you have hypertension, the blood flow to your inner ear is restricted. High blood pressure that goes unmanaged is also dangerous for your total health. 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 setting such as a factory, concert, aerobics class, or bar, then the place you just left had noise levels above safe levels. If you ignore this occasional tinnitus and don’t begin to safeguard your ears, it will likely become permanent over time. And hearing loss will probably accompany it.
If you’re going to be exposed to loud noise, use the following to safeguard your hearing:
- At least once an hour, step outside or into the restroom to give your ears a break
- Wearing earplugs
- Not standing too close to the speakers
Follow the rules regarding earplugs and earmuffs if you work in a noisy environment. Your safety gear will only successfully 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. Fluctuating Hearing Loss is Accompanying Tinnitus
Are you experiencing hearing loss that comes and goes? Are you sometimes dizzy? If these symptoms are occurring along with tinnitus, you may need to get screened for Menier’s disease. This makes your ears get a fluid imbalance. Your risk of falling due to lack of balance will worsen if this condition is left untreated.
Hearing loss is frequently signaled by tinnitus. So if you’re experiencing it, you need to have your hearing examined more frequently. Reach out to us to make an appointment for a hearing test.