Over the past several decades the public opinion about cannabinoids and marijuana has transformed a lot. Cannabinoids, marijuana, and THC products are now allowed for medical use in many states. The concept that some states (fewer) even allow the recreational usage of pot would have been hard to imagine 10 years ago.
Any compounds produced by the cannabis plant (the marijuana plant, essentially) are known as cannabinoids. Despite their recent legalization (in some states), we’re still discovering new things about cannabinoids. We often think of these particular compounds as having widespread healing qualities. But research suggests a strong link between the use of cannabinoids and tinnitus symptoms but there are also conflicting studies.
Cannabinoids come in many forms
At present, cannabinoids can be consumed in a number of varieties. Whatever name you want to give it, pot or weed is not the only form. Other forms can include topical spreads, edibles, pills, inhalable vapors, and others.
The forms of cannabinoids available will differ state by state, and many of those forms are still technically illegal under federal law if the THC content is above 0.3%. That’s why most people tend to be quite 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 studies into how cannabinoids affect your hearing are prime examples.
Research connecting hearing to cannabinoids
A wide array of disorders are believed to be successfully managed by cannabinoids. Seizures, nausea, vertigo, and more seem to be helped with cannabinoids, according to anecdotally available evidence. So the researchers wondered if cannabinoids could help manage tinnitus, too.
But what they discovered was that tinnitus symptoms can actually be activated by the use of cannabinoids. According to the research, more than 20% of study participants who used cannabinoid products documented hearing a ringing in their ears. And that’s in individuals who had never experienced tinnitus before. And tinnitus symptoms within 24 hours of consumption were 20-times more likely with marijuana users.
Further investigation indicated that marijuana use may worsen ear-ringing symptoms in those who already have tinnitus. So, it would seem, from this compelling research, that the relationship between tinnitus and cannabinoids isn’t a beneficial one.
The research isn’t clear as to how the cannabinoids were consumed but it should be pointed out that smoking has also been linked to tinnitus symptoms.
Unknown causes of tinnitus
The discovery of this connection doesn’t expose the root cause of the relationship. It’s pretty clear that cannabinoids have an impact on the middle ear. But what’s producing that impact is much less clear.
Research, undoubtedly, will carry on. People will be in a better position to make better choices if we can make progress in understanding the connection between the many forms of cannabinoids and tinnitus.
Beware the miracle cure
In recent years, there has been a great deal of marketing hype around cannabinoids. To some extent, that’s the result of changing mindsets associated with cannabinoids themselves (this also demonstrates a growing desire to get away from the use of opioids). But this new research clearly demonstrates that cannabinoids can and do create some negative effects, particularly if you’re uneasy about your hearing.
Lately, there’s been aggressive marketing about cannabinoids and you’ll never escape all of the cannabinoid enthusiasts.
But this research certainly suggests a strong connection between tinnitus and cannabinoids. So regardless of how many ads for CBD oil you see, you should steer clear of cannabinoids if you’re concerned about tinnitus. The connection between cannabinoids and tinnitus symptoms is unclear at best, so it’s worth exercising some caution.
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References
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5855477/
https://www.medpagetoday.com/meetingcoverage/aaohnsf/82180
