Public opinion surrounding cannabinoids and marijuana have changed remarkably over the last few decades. THC, cannabinoids, and even marijuana are legal for medical application in the majority of states. Not as many states have legalized marijuana for recreational applications, but even that would have been unthinkable even just a decade ago.
A group of compounds originating from the cannabis plant (the marijuana plant, essentially) are known as cannabinoids. New things are being uncovered about cannabinoids every day despite their recent legalization in some states. Even though we now are starting to understand the many medical positive aspects of these compounds, it has been well known for some time that tinnitus could be brought about by cannabinoids.
Cannabinoids Come in Several Forms
Nowadays, cannabinoids can be used in lots of forms. It isn’t just weed (or ganja, or pot…..ok, there are plenty of nicknames for marijuana so let’s move on). These days, THC and cannabinoids are available in pill form, as lotions, as inhaled mists, and more.
Each state has it’s own regulations regarding which types of cannabinoids you can purchase, and under federal law, many forms are still illegal if the THC content is over 0.3%. That’s why many people tend to be very careful about cannabinoids.
The issue is that we don’t yet know much about some of the long term side effects or complications of cannabinoid use. Some new research into how cannabinoids affect your hearing is a perfect example.
Cannabinoids And Your Hearing, Some New Studies
A large number of illnesses and medical conditions are believed to be helped by cannabinoids, whatever you want to call it. According to evidence that is anecdotally available, conditions such as vertigo, nausea, seizures, and many more seem to be helped by cannabinoids. So scientists decided to see if cannabinoids would be helpful with tinnitus, too.
Tinnitus might actually be triggered by cannabinoid use, as it turns out. According to the research, over 20% of study participants who used cannabinoid products noted hearing a ringing in their ears. And that’s in people who had never had tinnitus before. Additionally, marijuana users were 20-times more likely to report having tinnitus symptoms after 24 hours.
Added research indicated that marijuana use could aggravate ear-ringing symptoms in individuals who already suffer from tinnitus. This basically means, there’s some pretty compelling evidence that cannabinoids and tinnitus don’t really mix all that well.
How Cannabinoids Make Tinnitus Worse
There are a couple of tangible ways in which cannabinoids can cause your tinnitus to get worse. To start with, the incidents of tinnitus symptoms can get more consistent, you may notice the ringing or buzzing in your ears more persistently. Also, your struggles with tinnitus can get more overwhelming when you’re using cannabinoids. More intense ringing that can be much harder to ignore can be the result.
The research also appears to reveal that cannabinoids are capable of causing the onset of initial tinnitus symptoms. Or, explained another way: after you begin using cannabinoids you might start to experience tinnitus symptoms even if you didn’t have them before.
The Causes of Tinnitus Are Unknown
Just because this connection has been discovered doesn’t necessarily mean the root causes are all that well known. That cannabinoids can have an impact on the middle ear and on tinnitus is pretty clear. But what’s causing that impact is much less obvious.
But we recognize that marijuana use, in contrast to other mood altering substances like alcohol, can cause tinnitus.
Research, invariably, will continue. Cannabinoids nowadays come in so many kinds and forms that discovering the root link between these substances and tinnitus could help individuals make smarter choices.
Beware The Miracle Cure
In recent times there has been a ton of hype about cannabinoids by marketers. That’s partly because mindsets are changing about cannabinoids (and, to some extent, is also an indication of a desire to go away from opioid use). But cannabinoids can and sometimes do produce unwanted results, based on this new research, and this is particularly true when it comes to hearing.
You won’t be able to escape all of the cannabinoid fans and evangelists out there, the marketing of cannabinoids has been very assertive.
But cannabinoids and tinnitus are clearly connected based on this research. So if you suffer from tinnitus, or if you’re concerned about tinnitus it may be worth keeping away from cannabinoids if possible, no matter how many advertisements for CBD oil you may run into. The link between tinnitus and cannabinoids symptoms has been quite firmly established by the research, so it’s worth being careful.
