“Why am I hearing a ringing noise in my ears?” “How can I make that noise go away?”
You may be suffering from tinnitus, a common hearing disorder that manifests sounds in your ears that nobody else can hear, if you find yourself making these kinds of remarks. You’re not alone. Millions of individuals have this condition.
Ringing, pulsing, whistling, or buzzing are the sounds that most people describe.
Ringing in the ears might seem harmless, depending on its intensity. But tinnitus shouldn’t always be neglected. Tinnitus symptoms can frequently be a sign of something more serious happening in your body.
You need to take the following 6 symptoms seriously.
1. The Ringing in Your Ears is Affecting The Quality of Your Life
26% of individuals who have tinnitus cope with symptoms constantly, based on some studies.
This annoying, ever-present noise can bring about all kinds of relationship issues, anxiety, insomnia, and even depression.
It can be a battle between the tinnitus sound and something as basic as attempting to hear your friend tell you a recipe over the phone. You might snap at your grandchild, who asks a simple question, because the ringing makes you stressed.
Constant ringing can become a vicious cycle. 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 your tinnitus is contributing to these types of life struggles, you shouldn’t neglect it. It’s there, and your life is being affected. The noise can be decreased or eliminated with available treatment options.
2. The Noise in Your Ears Starts After You Switch Medications
Doctors might try various different medications to treat the same condition whether you have cancer or chronic pain. Some of these will have side effects so severe that you may want to ask about alternate options. Talk with your doctor and find out 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:
- Antibiotics
- 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
- Chemo
3. Headache, Seizures, And Blurred Vision Come With Tinnitus Noises
This normally means that your tinnitus symptoms are being caused by high blood pressure. The blood circulation in your inner ear is restricted when you suffer from hypertension. Your general 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 leave a noisy place such as a factory, bar, concert, or fitness class, and you begin to hear tinnitus noises, you were probably exposed to unsafe noise levels and that’s most likely the cause of these noises. It becomes increasingly likely that these noises will become permanent the more frequently you disregard them and neglect using ear protection. And hearing loss will usually accompany it.
If you love a noisy night out, take precautions such as:
- Standing a little further away from loud speakers
- Giving your ears a regular break by going outside or into the restroom, if possible, at least once every hour
- Wearing earplugs
If you work in a noisy place, follow work rules pertaining to earmuffs and earplugs. Your safety gear will only effectively protect you if you use it 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 you have paralysis, nausea, headaches, and you also have tinnitus, it’s possible that you might have an acoustic neuroma (a slow growing benign brain tumor).
6. You Experience Fluctuating Hearing Loss With it
Do you experience hearing loss that seems to get worse, then get better, then worse again? Are you sometimes dizzy? If these symptoms are happening along with tinnitus, you might need to get screened 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 significant falls due to lack of balance.
Hearing loss is frequently signaled by tinnitus. So you should get your hearing checked if you’re experiencing it. Reach out to us to make an appointment for a hearing test.