Why Does High Blood Pressure Cause Tinnitus
Tinnitus is often caused by high blood pressure. Its possible that high blood pressure could worsen the symptoms of tinnitus by putting strain on blood vessels and nerves in the ear, and by thickening the blood flow. People with high blood pressure should be aware of the condition and that it may lead to tinnitus or exacerbate the condition if not managed.
They should also make an effort to lower their blood pressure.
People with high blood pressure are more likely to hear ringing in the ears,
More than half of people with tinnitus will also hear high-pitched sounds in the ears. If youre among this group, its recommended that you visit your doctor.
Tips For Seeking Medical Treatment
If your anxiety or tinnitus symptoms progress or do not respond to home remedies, you may need to seek medical treatment.
Your doctor will likely do an ear exam for tinnitus and ask about your health history. Make sure to bring a list of your symptoms, noting the frequency of them and any remedies youve tried.
If your primary care physician cannot find a cause, they may refer you to an otolaryngologist for a more thorough exam or an audiologist to measure your hearing.
Whether or not a medical professional finds a cause for your tinnitus, there are currently no FDA-approved drugs to treat it. But some physicians may use certain medications off label to treat your symptoms. This is a conversation to have with your doctor.
If your symptoms include anxiety, your doctor may refer you to a mental health expert, such as a psychologist or psychotherapist. Treatment for anxiety may help relieve your tinnitus symptoms.
Be sure to bring a list of your symptoms, noting their frequency and severity. Mention any home remedies or other forms of treatment youve tried.
Common methods for treating anxiety include cognitive behavioral therapy , biofeedback, and lifestyle modifications like exercise, meditation, and breath work.
More specifically, a treatment regimen called tinnitus retraining therapy uses CBT and supplemental sound masking to help you adapt to tinnitus.
What Are The Symptoms Of Pulsatile Tinnitus
The main symptom of pulsatile tinnitus is hearing a sound in your ears that seems to match your heartbeat or pulse. You may even be able to take your pulse while youre hearing the sound in your ears.
You may also notice heart palpitations or feelings of lightheadedness. You should have these symptoms evaluated by a doctor as soon as possible. If you experience sudden chest pain or other signs of a heart attack, call 911.
Read more: Is it possible to reverse atherosclerosis? »
Turbulent blood flow
Narrowed neck arteries or veins may also cause a change in blood flow to and from the head. Your ears may pick up on this turbulent or irregular circulation, causing pulsatile tinnitus.
Head or neck tumors
A tumor that presses against a vein can also cause pulsatile tinnitus.
Abnormal capillaries
A problem with the tiny blood vessels that help connect your arteries to your veins, or capillaries, can cause pulsatile tinnitus.
Read Also: How To Do Abc In Sign Language
Allergy And Hearing Aids
In addition to causing you some discomfort, allergens can also clog the microphone ports in your hearing aids, affecting the way your hearing aids function. You can replace the covers of microphone ports easily. Of course, regular cleaning of your hearing aid is always advisable, especially during allergy season.
Some people seem to experience an allergic reaction to their hearing aids. If this is the case, be sure to talk to your hearing health professional. The allergy may be caused by poor fit, moisture in the ear, wax accumulation, dry skin or an allergy to the earmold material. Many hearing aid manufacturers have options for people with sensitive ears such as hypoallergenic shell materials or coatings that provide relief.
Recommended Reading: Does Claritin Affect Blood Pressure
Blockage Due To Foreign Object
You can do the following things at home as first aid for a foreign object in the ear:
- if the object is visible, carefully use tweezers to gently remove it
- tilt your head to the side to use gravity to remove the object
- try to wash the object out using a small syringe with warm water to gently irrigate the ear canal
You May Like: Connecting Phonak To Iphone
Hearing Loss & Noise Damage Are Big Factors
The exact cause is unknown, but most experts think nerve damage from noise exposure is the main reason. The current theory is that damage or dysfunction occurs along the nerve pathways that detect sound waves and deliver sound to your brain. This leads to disrupted hearing and sound processing, including tinnitus.
There are many different places in the inner ear and auditory nerve where such damage could occur, meaning tinnitus is likely not just one diseasewith one simple treatment. Also, a person often has multiple risk factors and medical conditions, making it hard to know if theres a single culprit.
If you have a history of loud noise exposure, you are at high risk of tinnitus.
You Can Develop Ringing In Your Ears By Using These Everyday Medicines
by Heart of Texas Hearing Centers | Sep 15, 2021 | Tinnitus Articles
You wake up in the morning, and theres ringing in your ears. They were fine yesterday so thats strange. So you begin thinking about likely causes: you havent been working in the shop , you havent been playing your music at an unreasonable volume . But you did take some aspirin for your headache yesterday.
Could the aspirin be the cause?
And that prospect gets your mind working because perhaps it is the aspirin. And you remember, somewhere in the deeper recesses of your memory, hearing that some medicines were connected to reports of tinnitus. Could aspirin be one of those medicines? And does that mean you should quit using aspirin?
Recommended Reading: What Does Ringing Ears Mean Spiritually
Avoid These Things To Reduce The Ringing
There are some things that are known to cause or worsen tinnitus symptoms and these are the things you should steer clear of. One of the most prevalent things that worsen tinnitus is loud noises. Try to avoid using headphones, and if you are exposed to noise at work or at home, get some high-quality earplugs to minimize the damage.
Some medications such as anti-inflammatory drugs, antibiotics, and even high doses of aspirin can worsen the ringing so consult your doctor. Make certain you speak with your doctor before you stop taking your medication.
Here are some other typical causes:
- high blood pressure
- excessive earwax
I Have High Blood Pressure Why Do My Ears Feel Clogged When Upset
Ask U.S. doctors your own question and get educational, text answers â it’s anonymous and free!
Ask U.S. doctors your own question and get educational, text answers â it’s anonymous and free!
HealthTap doctors are based in the U.S., board certified, and available by text or video.
Recommended Reading: Zymox And Perforated Eardrum
Check With Your Doctor
Tinnitus might be able to be caused by a couple of other unusual medicines. And the interaction between some combinations of medications can also produce symptoms. So consulting your doctor about any medication side effects is the best idea.
You should also get examined if you start experiencing tinnitus symptoms. Maybe its the medicine, and maybe its not. Often, hearing loss is present when tinnitus symptoms develop, and treatments like hearing aids can help.
Study Supporting The Cause Of Hypertension
Recent research finds the depth connection between tinnitus and hypertension. The findings of the study are published in the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health.
The narrowing or twist of the carotid artery or the jugular vein hindrances the blood flow and causes a risk of tinnitus.
In the research paper, the authors describe tinnitus as a multifactorial symptom. The main target of the study was to observe the extent of hypertension between tinnitus and non-tinnitus patients. They also studied the psychoacoustic measurements in three groups of people. Firstly, the ones who had tinnitus, then the hypertensive patients, and normotensive people.
ALSO READ: Consuming lingonberry juice would possibly lend a hand decrease hypertension
This research was able to find the effect of anti-hypertensive drugs on tinnitus. According to the analysis of the results, hypertension is more prevalent in people with tinnitus than the non-tinnitus patients. The result revealed the dominance ratio of 44.4% to 34.4%.
The fact is: there are several legal and prescribed medications on the market, which are known to worsen tinnitus. The general thumb rule is that the higher the dosage of the medications, the greater the risk of developing tinnitus and deteriorating the pre-existing condition.
You may also like
Recommended Reading: Which Composer Experienced Hearing Loss During His Lifetime
Are Ringing Ears A Sign Of High Blood Pressure
Its estimated that 68 million adults in the U.S. have hypertension, or high blood pressure, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . That equates to 1 in 3 U.S. adults experiencing high blood pressure. Further estimates show that up to 20% are unaware of the condition.
Healthline defines high blood pressure as occurring when your blood pressure increases to unhealthy levels. Your heart pumps blood around your body continuously. Your blood pressure is a reflection of how much resistance your blood meets as it travels through your blood vessels and arteries. Narrowing of the vessels and arteries increases pressure. This can have a wider reaching impact on your body.
High Blood Pressure Causes Tinnitus To Worsen
All sorts of health conditions, like tinnitus, can be caused by hypertension and high blood pressure. High blood pressure can intensify the ringing or buzzing youre already hearing, making it hard to disregard. High blood pressure has treatment options which might decrease tinnitus symptoms in related situations.
What can be done? High blood pressure isnt something you want to ignore. Medical treatment is suggested. But you could also change your lifestyle a little: avoid foods with high fat or salt content and get more exercise. Stress can also increase your blood pressure, so practicing relaxation techniques or making lifestyle changes can also improve hypertension .
Recommended Reading: Signs That Say Merry Christmas
Tinnitus And Medication Whats The Connection
Tinnitus is one of those disorders that has long been reported to be linked to many different medications. But those rumors arent exactly what youd call well-founded.
Tinnitus is commonly viewed as a side effect of a diverse swath of medications. The truth is that there are a few kinds of medications that can cause tinnitus or tinnitus-like symptoms. So why does tinnitus have a reputation for being this super-common side effect? Well, there are a couple of theories:
- Tinnitus is a relatively common condition. Persistent tinnitus is an issue for as many as 20 million people. Some coincidental timing is unavoidable when that many individuals deal with tinnitus symptoms. Enough individuals will start using medicine around the same time that their unrelated tinnitus starts to act up. Because the timing is, coincidentally, so close, people make some erroneous assumptions about cause-and-effect.
- Many medicines can influence your blood pressure, which also can affect tinnitus.
- Starting a new medicine can be stressful. Or more frequently, its the root condition that youre taking the medication to manage that brings about stress. And stress is commonly linked to tinnitus. So in this case, the tinnitus symptoms arent being produced by the medicine. Its the stress of the whole experience, though the misunderstanding between the two is somewhat understandable.
Head Injuries And Brain Diseases
A head injury, such as whiplash or concussion, can cause damage to the delicate inner ear structure, which may lead to tinnitus. Also, neurologic diseases like multiple sclerosis can result in tinnitus, and acoustic tumors on the auditory or vestibular nerve can create tinnitus by pressing on the neural connections. In this case, a neurologist would be the primary physician to help you.
Also Check: What Does It Mean When Your Ears Ring Spiritually
Can I Alleviate My Tinnitus By Using A Masking Device Or White Noise Generator
You can minimize the impact of the nonstop noise in your head by distracting your ears and your brain. Your TV, radio, or computer can be used as a masking device so you wont even need any special equipment. If you prefer, there are hearing aids or specialized devices you can purchase to help.
If you experience a continuous ringing, whooshing, or buzzing sound in your ears, take the problem seriously. If youre experiencing hearing loss or have health problems that are acting up, it might be a warning sign. Before what started as an annoying problem becomes a more severe issue, take measures to protect your ears and if the ringing continues, seek professional hearing help.
Heart And Blood Vessel Problems
If your tinnitus resembles a pumping, beating or pulsating sound, it could be caused by damage to your blood vessels. This is known as pulsatile tinnitus. Some common underlying cardiac causes of tinnitus include high blood pressure, turbulent blood flow, heart disease, and malformations of the small arteries. Seek prompt medical care if you hear pulsing sounds.
Recommended Reading: Hungry In Sign Language Baby
Ringing In Ears An Early Sign Of Hypertension You May Be Next
All the stress and depression with every passing day, has increased the risk of hypertension dramatically in many people. More than one-quarter of the people in the UK are hypertensive.
Up to this date, there have been no confirmed signs and symptoms of hypertension. However, constant ringing, drumming, and buzzing noises in the ears were found to raise the blood pressure reading. It may be one of the early signs of hypertension.
Tinnitus is not a disease and is a cause of an underlying condition. It nearly affects 15 to 20 percent of people around the world. Sounds heard in the tinnitus are pulsing, ringing, or buzzing, which are not stimulated from the external environment.
Can High Blood Pressure Tablets Cause Dizziness
Inner ear infections also may cause nausea vomiting vertigo ringing in the ear and labyrinthitis inflammation of the inner ear. Can high blood pressure tablets cause dizziness Middle and inner ear infections may cause fever and balance problems. Angiotensin II is an enzyme that narrows the blood vessels. Panic attacks and panic disorder..
Dizziness is one of the most common symptoms that will prompt an individual to visit a doctor. Can high blood pressure tablets cause dizziness High blood pressure. Most outer and middle ear infections do not..
Pin On Vertigo Remedies How To Get Rid Continue Learning about Hypertension Reducing Blood PressureSans Soda or Coffee. Increased blood pressure does not appear to cause dizziness but it is a side effect of some high blood pressure medications especially alpha blockers and alpha-beta blockers..
Vertigo Migraine Triggers Vertigo Causes Vertigo Symptoms Vertigo Treatment The term dizzy or dizziness can be difficult to define because it can. Other causes of dizziness..
Pin On Hypertension Home remedies may help labyrinthitis symptoms and signs. About 75 million people in the US have hypertension 1 in 3 adults and only half of them are able to manage it..
Pin On Vertigo Causes Ears It is possible for nausea or dizziness to be a symptom of high blood pressure. Many people occasionally feel dizzy if they stand up too quickly and the older you get the more likely this will happen..
Also Check: Asl For Hungry
But What Does High Blood Pressure Have To Do With Tinnitus
Can there be a connection between hypertension and tinnitus? Yes, and it is significant.
When a person has high blood pressure, there is an increased pressure on the walls of the blood vessels that carry blood to the inner ears.
In some cases this may cause ringing or buzzing in the ears. In these circumstances the patients tinnitus is described as pulsatile, since it corresponds to the heartbeat. Therefore high blood pressure is the main cause of pulsatile tinnitus.
What Is Pulsatile Tinnitus
Pulsatile tinnitus is caused by blood circulating in or near your ears.
Unlike most types of tinnitus, pulsatile tinnitus has a physical source of sound that your ears pick up. Its an amplified sound of blood circulating through your arteries.
The ringing or buzzing you hear with other kinds of tinnitus is a result of nerves picking up on abnormal electrical signals moving from your ears to your brain.
Don’t Miss: Teach Yourself Sign Language
Is There A Cure For The Ringing In My Ears
by Colonial Center for Hearing Audiology | Jul 8, 2020 | Tinnitus Articles
Whats the best way to eliminate the ringing in my ears? Although we dont yet know how to cure tinnitus, its effects can be minimized by recognizing what triggers it and makes it worse.
A consistent whooshing, buzzing, or ringing in the ears is experienced by 32 percent of individuals according to researchers. This condition is known as tinnitus, and it can lead to real problems. People who hear these sounds have trouble sleeping and concentrating, and they might also have associated hearing loss.
Because it is normally related to some other affliction, there is no real cure for the tinnitus itself, but there are measures you can take to quiet the noise.
And What Increases Blood Pressure
There are several factors that increase blood pressure, such as:
- Excess of salt in the diet
- Stress
- Caffeine
- High blood pressure
And as one of the causes of tinnitus is high blood pressure, it would be advisable for those affected to focus their efforts on trying to keep stress and high blood pressure at bay.
You May Like: How To Say Im Hungry In Sign Language
Whats The Relationship Between Tinnitus And Medications
The enduring rumor has associated tinnitus symptoms with countless medicines. But those rumors arent really what youd call well-founded.
Its commonly believed that a huge variety of medications cause tinnitus or tinnitus-like symptoms. The truth is that there are a few types of medications that can produce tinnitus or tinnitus-like symptoms. So why do so many people believe tinnitus is such a common side effect? Here are some hypotheses:
- It can be stressful to start using a new medicine. Or, in some instances, its the underlying cause, the thing that youre using the medication to deal with, that is stressful. And stress is commonly associated with tinnitus. So in this situation, the tinnitus symptoms arent being caused by the medication. The whole ordeal is stressful enough to cause this sort of confusion.
- The condition of tinnitus is pretty prevalent. Persistent tinnitus is a problem for as many as 20 million people. When that many people deal with symptoms, its unavoidable that there will be some coincidental timing that appears. Unrelated tinnitus symptoms can begin right around the same time as medicine is taken. Because the timing is, coincidentally, so close, people make some false assumptions about cause-and-effect.
- Many medicines can affect your blood pressure, which also can affect tinnitus.
You May Like: High Blood Pressure And Chf