“Why am I hearing a ringing noise in my ears?” “Why won’t that noise stop?”
You might be dealing with tinnitus, a common hearing affliction that manifests noises in your ears that nobody else can hear, if you find yourself making these types of statements. 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 dial tone, pulsing noise, buzzing, or whistling.
Depending on the intensity, ringing in the ears may seem harmless. But there are absolutely times when you shouldn’t ignore it. Tinnitus symptoms can often be a sign of something more significant taking place in your body.
Here are 6 tinnitus symptoms you need to take 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.
This frustrating, ever-present noise can bring about all kinds of relationship issues, anxiety, insomnia, and even depression.
It can be a struggle between the tinnitus sound and something as simple as trying to hear your friend give you a recipe over the phone. You might snap at your grandchild, who asks a simple question, because the ringing stresses you out.
A vicious cycle can be the result of this continuous ringing. As your stress level rises, the ringing gets louder. And you get more anxious the louder the noise is and on and on.
If tinnitus is contributing to these types of life challenges, it’s time to deal with it. It’s real, and it impacts 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 may try various different medications to manage the same ailment whether you have cancer or chronic pain. You might ask for an alternative if you begin to experience significant side effects. Consult with your doctor and determine what the side effects are if you began experiencing tinnitus symptoms after starting a new medication.
Some common medications might cause tinnitus. These include some forms of:
- Chemo
- Antibiotics
- Loop Diuretics
- Over-the-counter painkillers (Tylenol, Aleve, Advil, and even aspirin) when taken several times a day for an extended period of time.
- Opioids (Pain Killers)
3. Blurred Vision, Seizures, And Headache Come With Tinnitus Noises
This normally indicates that your tinnitus symptoms are being caused by high blood pressure. The blood circulation in your inner ear is compromised when you have hypertension. High blood pressure that goes unmanaged is also a risk to your general health. Over time, it may cause or worsen age-related hearing loss.
4. You Always Seem to be Leaving Work, The Gym, or a Concert When You Hear it
If you leave a noisy place like a bar, concert, factory, or fitness class, and you begin to hear tinnitus noises, you were probably exposed to unsafe noise levels and that’s more than likely the cause of these noises. It becomes increasingly likely that these noises will become irreversible the more often you ignore them and skip using ear protection. And it’s commonly accompanied by hearing loss.
If you are going to be exposed to loud sound, use the following to protect your hearing:
- Using earplugs
- Giving your ears a regular break by going outside or into the restroom, if possible, at least once every hour
- Not standing too close to the speakers
If you work in a noisy place, adhere to work rules regarding earmuffs and earplugs. They’re made 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 come along with headaches, paralysis, 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
Do you experience hearing loss that seems to worsen, then get better, then worse again? Do you feel dizzy off and on? If these symptoms are occurring along with tinnitus, you might need to get tested for Menier’s disease. This makes your ears get a fluid imbalance. If left untreated, it frequently gets worse and might increase your risks of significant falls caused by lack of balance.
Hearing loss is often signaled by tinnitus. So if you are experiencing it, you should have your hearing examined more frequently. Call us to set up an appointment.
