Public opinion about cannabinoids and marijuana have transformed incredibly over the last few decades. THC, cannabinoids, and even marijuana are legal for medical application in most states. Ten or fifteen years ago it would have been unimaginable for marijuana to be legal for recreational use but some states have even taken this step.
A group of substances derived from the cannabis plant (the marijuana plant, basically) are known as cannabinoids. New things are being discovered about cannabinoids all the time despite their recent decriminalization in some states. We usually think of these particular compounds as having universal healing properties, but established research implies there may also be negative impact such as a strong link between cannabinoid use and the occurrence of tinnitus symptoms.
There Are Numerous Forms of Cannabinoids
There are many varieties of cannabinoids that can be taken now. It isn’t just weed (or ganja, or pot…..ok, there are plenty of nicknames for marijuana so let’s move ahead). Pills, oils, mists and other forms of cannabinoids are currently obtainable.
Each state has different regulations regarding what forms of cannabinoids you can purchase, and under federal law, many types are still illegal if the THC content is more than 0.3%. So it’s still common for people to be very cautious about cannabinoids.
We still need more study and experience before we will truly understand the long range and side effects of cannabinoids. A good example is the new insight about how cannabinoids impact your hearing.
Cannabinoids And Your Hearing, Some New Studies
A wide variety of ailments and medical conditions are believed to be improved by cannabinoids, whatever you want to call it. According to evidence that is anecdotally available, conditions like vertigo, nausea, seizures, and many more seem to be helped by cannabinoids. So scientists resolved to find out if cannabinoids could help with tinnitus, as well.
Tinnitus might actually be triggered by cannabinoid use, as it turns out. Ringing in the ears was described by over 29% of participants after using cannabinoids. And these participants had never had tinnitus symptoms before the study. Additionally, marijuana users were 20-times more likely to report experiencing tinnitus symptoms after 24 hours.
And for individuals who already suffered from tinnitus, marijuana use made it worse. In other words, there’s some pretty persuasive evidence that cannabinoids and tinnitus don’t really mix very well.
How Cannabinoids Make Tinnitus Worse
There are a couple of tangible ways in which cannabinoids can cause your tinnitus to get worse. First off, the incidents of tinnitus symptoms can get more frequent, you may experience the ringing or buzzing in your ears more persistently. Also, your bouts of tinnitus can become more intense when you use cannabinoids. Louder ringing that can be harder to dismiss can be the result.
Cannabinoids have also been found to trigger the onset of tinnitus symptoms. To put it a different way: if you didn’t have tinnitus before, you could develop tinnitus after using cannabinoids.
Unclear Causes of Tinnitus
We recognize that there’s a link between tinnitus and certain triggers but we’re still not certain what the actual underlying causes are. It’s evident that cannabinoids can have an impact on the middle ear and symptoms of tinnitus. But it’s much less clear what’s causing this impact.
But we know that using marijuana, in contrast to other mood altering substances such as alcohol, will cause tinnitus.
Research, invariably, will continue. Cannabinoids today come in so many varieties and forms that understanding the fundamental connection between these substances and tinnitus would help individuals make better choices.
The Miracle Cure Beware
In recent times there has been a ton of hype created around cannabinoids by marketers. That’s partly because perceptions are changing about cannabinoids (and, to some extent, is also a reflection of a desire to go away from opioid use). But this new research makes it clear that cannabinoids can and do produce some negative effects, particularly if you’re worried about your hearing.
You’ll never be able to steer clear of all of the cannabinoid fanatics and evangelists out there, the marketing for cannabinoids has been very aggressive.
But cannabinoids and tinnitus are clearly associated based on this research. So no matter how many adds you see for CBD oils, if you’re worried about tinnitus, you should probably avoid them. The link between tinnitus and cannabinoids symptoms has been quite securely established by the research, so it’s worth being careful.