Public opinion surrounding cannabinoids and marijuana have changed remarkably in the past few decades. Many states now permit the use of marijuana, THC, or cannabinoid products for medicinal applications. Far fewer states have legalized marijuana for recreational applications, but even that would have been unimaginable even just ten or fifteen years ago.
A group of compounds originating from the cannabis plant (the marijuana plant, essentially) are called cannabinoids. New things are being uncovered about cannabinoids every day in spite of their recent legalization in some states. We often think of these particular substances as having universal healing qualities, but current research implies there might also be negative impact including a strong link between cannabinoid use and the development of tinnitus symptoms.
Many Types of Cannabinoids
There are numerous varieties of cannabinoids that can be used now. It isn’t just weed (or ganja, or pot…..ok, there are lots of nicknames for marijuana so let’s move ahead). Oils, mists, pills and other forms of cannabinoids are currently obtainable.
The types of cannabinoids available will vary depending on the state, and many of those varieties are still technically illegal under federal law if the THC content is over 0.3%. That’s why some people tend to be very careful about cannabinoids.
The problem is that we don’t yet grasp much about some of the potential side effects or complications of cannabinoid usage. A good example is the new information about how cannabinoids affect your hearing.
New Research Into Cannabinoids And How They Affect Hearing
Whatever you want to call it, cannabinoids have long been linked to improving a wide range of medical conditions. Seizures, nausea, vertigo, and more seem to be helped with cannabinoids, according to anecdotally available information. So scientists resolved to see if cannabinoids would be helpful with tinnitus, as well.
Turns out, cannabinoids could 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. What’s more, marijuana users were 20-times more likely to report experiencing tinnitus symptoms after 24 hours.
And for people who already have tinnitus, marijuana use caused it to get worse. In a nutshell, there’s some very convincing evidence that cannabinoids and tinnitus don’t really mix all that well.
How Cannabinoids Make Tinnitus Worse
There are a couple of concrete ways that cannabinoids can cause your tinnitus to get worse. The first is that your tinnitus can become more frequent. Cannabinoids can also make those tinnitus episodes more extreme. Louder ringing that can be harder to dismiss can be the result.
The study also appears to indicate that cannabinoids can cause the development of the initial symptoms of tinnitus. To put it a different way: after you begin using cannabinoids you may develop tinnitus symptoms even if you didn’t have them before.
The Causes of Tinnitus Are Unclear
Just because this connection has been discovered doesn’t necessarily mean the underlying causes are all that well grasped. That cannabinoids can have an impact on the middle ear and on tinnitus is fairly clear. But it’s much less evident what’s causing this impact.
But we recognize that using marijuana, in contrast to other mood altering substances such as alcohol, will cause tinnitus.
Of course, we will continue to do the research. Cannabinoids these days come in so many kinds and forms that discovering the underlying connection between these substances and tinnitus would help people make smarter choices.
Beware The Miracle Cure
Lately there has been lots of hype about cannabinoids by marketers. Partly, that’s the result of changing mindsets surrounding cannabinoids themselves (and, to an extent, is also an indication of a desire to go away from opioids). But this new research makes it clear that cannabinoids can and do create some negative effects, especially if you’re worried about your hearing.
You’ll never be able to avoid all of the cannabinoid fanatics and evangelists out there, the marketing for cannabinoids has been especially assertive.
But tinnitus and cannabinoids are clearly linked based on this research. So regardless of how many adds you see for CBD oils, if you’re concerned about tinnitus, you should probably keep away from them. The link between tinnitus and cannabinoids symptoms has been quite firmly established by the research, so it’s worth being careful.