Public opinion surrounding marijuana and cannabinoids have transformed remarkably over the last few decades. The majority of states now allow the use of marijuana, THC, or cannabinoid compounds for medicinal applications. Not as many states have legalized pot for recreational purposes, but even that would have been impossible even just a decade ago.
Cannabinoids are categorized as a group of substances derived from the cannabis or marijuana plant. Notwithstanding their recent decriminalization in certain states, we’re still finding out new things about cannabinoids. Despite the fact that we now are starting to acknowledge the countless medical benefits of these compounds, it has been recognized for a while that tinnitus may be brought about by cannabinoids.
Cannabinoids Come in Several Types
Today, cannabinoids can be consumed in lots of forms. It’s not just pot (or refer, or grass… ok, let’s just all agree upfront that marijuana has many nicknames and move on). These days, THC and cannabinoids are available in pill form, as topical spreads, as inhaled mists, and lots of others.
The forms of cannabinoids available will vary depending on the state, and many of those varieties are still technically illegal under federal law if the amount of THC is over 0.3%. That’s why many people tend to be rather cautious about cannabinoids.
The concern is that we don’t yet grasp much about some of the lasting side effects or risks of cannabinoid usage. Some new research into how cannabinoids influence your hearing is a good example.
Cannabinoids And Your Hearing, Some New Research
Whatever you would like to call it, cannabinoids have long been connected to improving a wide variety of medical ailments. According to information that is anecdotally available, conditions including vertigo, nausea, seizures, and many more seem to be helped by cannabinoids. So is it possible that cannabinoids assist with tinnitus? That’s what scientists resolved to find out.
Seems as if cannabinoids might actually trigger tinnitus. Ringing in the ears was described by more than 29% of participants after implementing cannabinoids. And that’s in people who had never experienced tinnitus before. Additionally, marijuana users were 20-times more likely to report having tinnitus symptoms after 24 hours.
Further research suggested that marijuana use could exacerbate ear-ringing symptoms in people who already deal with tinnitus. So, it seems fairly certain that tinnitus and cannabinoids aren’t really compatible.
How Cannabinoids Make Tinnitus Worse
Your tinnitus can be aggravated by cannabinoids in a couple of concrete ways. First, the incidents of tinnitus symptoms can become more frequent, you might experience the buzzing or ringing in your ears more often. Also, your bouts of tinnitus can get more intense when you’re using cannabinoids. The discomfort from the ringing might become more intense or harder to ignore.
The study also seems to suggest that cannabinoids can cause the onset of the initial symptoms of tinnitus. Or, explained another way: after you begin using cannabinoids you might develop tinnitus symptoms even if you had no symptoms before.
The Causes of Tinnitus Are Unclear
Just because this connection has been discovered doesn’t necessarily mean the root causes are all that well understood. That cannabinoids can have an affect on the middle ear and on tinnitus is pretty clear. But it’s much less evident what’s causing this impact.
But we recognize that using marijuana, as opposed to other mood altering substances like alcohol, will cause tinnitus.
Research, unquestionably, will continue. Cannabinoids today come in so many types and forms that understanding the root connection between these substances and tinnitus could help people make better choices.
The Miracle Cure Beware
There has undeniably been no shortage of marketing hype concerning cannabinoids in recent years. Partly, that’s due to changing attitudes about cannabinoids themselves (and, to an extent, is also a reflection of a desire to move away from opioid use). But this new research clearly demonstrates that cannabinoids can and do produce some negative consequence, specifically if you’re concerned about your hearing.
The marketing for cannabinoids has been particularly aggressive and you can’t completely avoid all of the fanatics.
But cannabinoids and tinnitus are clearly linked based on this research. So if you have tinnitus, or if you’re worried about tinnitus it may be worth avoiding cannabinoids if you can, regardless of how many advertisements for CBD oil you may run into. It’s worth being careful when the connection between cannabinoids and tinnitus has been so solidly demonstrated.