CBD for Tinnitus

There are few things in life that are more annoying than a ringing in the background of your ears. We’ve all experienced it before, after a loud concert or just randomly while sitting in a quiet room. But for many people, this type of sensation isn’t just a random occurrence or temporary annoyance. For those with tinnitus, that ringing of the ears can be a daily struggle, interfering with their concentration and interrupting their peace. In recent years, you’ve likely heard a lot about the wide range of therapeutic applications of CBD. If you have tinnitus, you might find yourself wondering if CBD can help you find relief from the ringing, or maybe you just have some questions about what tinnitus is and why it is affecting you. In this article, we’ll go over what exactly is tinnitus, what might be causing it, and what you can do to treat it. Let’s get started.

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What is Tinnitus?

Tinnitus is what doctors call it when a patient hears a persistent noise in their ears that is not caused by something in the environment. The truth is, almost all people experience what otolaryngologists call “normal tinnitus”. This is that very faint ringing you hear in a room that is very quiet and still. For an in depth breakdown of tinnitus, I recommend this overview from the Mayo Clinic.

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A high-pitched ringing is the most common noise that people suffering from tinnitus hear, hence the name, which comes from the Latin verb ‘tinnire’ meaning ‘to ring’. But ringing isn’t the only sound that one might hear if they have tinnitus. It could also be a droning, warbling, buzzing, clicking, humming, or roaring sound. The hearing of this sound can either be constant or come intermittently, and can occur in both ears or just one.

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Anyone can suffer from tinnitus but there are a few factors that put people at a higher risk of experiencing it. Some risk factors include:

• Exposure to loud noise – those who work in consistently loud environments, like construction workers, factory workers, soldiers, and musicians, are at a particularly high risk for tinnitus.
• Age – as you get older, tinnitus can develop due to a declining function of nerve fibers in the ear.
• Sex – men are at a higher risk for experiencing tinnitus.
• Tobacco and alcohol use – those who regularly use either or both have an increased risk of tinnitus.
• Health problems – there are a variety of health factors that can include tinnitus as a symptom, we’ll discuss this further soon.

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While tinnitus does not actually cause any physical harm to the body, it can have a serious impact on your life. Some have trouble concentrating or making sense of conversation, others develop fatigue and can have trouble sleeping. Tinnitus can even lead to increased stress, depression, and anxiety. Treating tinnitus is not always simple and the first step in doing so effectively is identifying what is causing it.

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What Causes Tinnitus?

Tinnitus is not a condition, disease, or syndrome on its own. If you have tinnitus, what you have is a symptom of some other underlying condition, like having a fever because you’ve been infected by the flu. This means that to treat tinnitus, you must identify and treat the underlying cause. Unfortunately, this can sometimes be difficult because there is a laundry list of potential conditions that could be causing that persistent ringing in your ears. These conditions include:

• Hearing loss
• Ear infection
• Ear canal blockage (earwax, foreign materials)
• Head, neck, or jaw injury
• Medications (NSAIDs, antibiotics, diuretics, cancer medication)
• Meniere’s disease
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Migraines and headaches
• Middle and inner ear disorders

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This variety of potential issues can make pinpointing the cause difficult, which can also make treating tinnitus difficult. If you and your physician can’t figure out the cause, doctors may start by removing excess earwax from the ear canal. A doctor may also try prescribing tricyclic antidepressants, which may help by dampening the sound you hear inside your ears. Others with tinnitus have found relief by running a white noise machine, particularly when trying to sleep. If you’re still looking for tinnitus relief, you might be wondering if CBD could help. 

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What is CBD?

Cannabidiol or CBD is a naturally occurring compound found in the hemp plant, known as a cannabinoid. There are hundreds of cannabinoids that are created by plants as well as by your own body. CBD interacts with your body to help regulate a wide range of systems. To understand exactly how it helps to do that, you need to understand the endocannabinoid system.

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How Does CBD Work?

We have a detailed article on the endocannabinoid system (ECS) that you can read here, but right now we’ll run through the basics. Your body has a variety of systems like your metabolism, nervous system, and digestive system that all operate best when they maintain a proper balance. Whenever one of these systems somehow falls out of balance, it is the responsibility of the ECS to help restore that balance. The ECS is made up of three parts, endocannabinoids, receptors, and enzymes. When the body is out of balance, the ECS goes to work. First, the ECS starts generating endocannabinoids, which are the types of cannabinoids produced naturally within the body. These endocannabinoids are then dispatched to the appropriate receptors, known as either CB1 receptors or CB2 receptors. When the endocannabinoids get to the receptors they’re looking for, they bind to them, which causes the receptors to either activate or deactivate, depending on what is needed. After the endocannabinoids and receptors work together to restore balance to the body, enzymes are sent in to remove the endocannabinoids and eliminate them from the body.

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The problem with the ECS is that sometimes it cannot produce enough endocannabinoids on its own to properly return the body to homeostasis. This can be because of illness, injury, environmental factors, or lifestyle choices. This is where cannabinoids like CBD come on. By supplementing your ECS with hemp-based cannabinoids your body can more easily restore its systems to balance.

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Can CBD Help Treat Tinnitus?

If you have tinnitus and you are looking for relief, you’re likely willing to try just about anything that will help make that ringing go away. CBD may be one option to help you find comfort. Because hemp-based products have only become legal relatively recently, research into the full depth and breadth of its effects has a long way to go before we will have a clear picture of the full range of CBD’s therapeutic effects and the ways in which it imparts them on the body. When it comes to tinnitus, that research is still unclear, but there have been studies that have shown that CBD may help with tinnitus. For example, this review of studies that were compiled in 2020 suggests that because CBD may help with both hearing loss and tinnitus because it has both anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties. While research specific to CBD and tinnitus is relatively limited, remember that we learned earlier that tinnitus is in fact a symptom of an underlying issue, and not a disorder in and of itself. Let’s look at some of those causes and how CBD can help alleviate them.

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Aging

Age related hearing loss is the number one cause of tinnitus. While there are several studies that have shown that CBD can help reduce the negative impacts of aging, one of the most promising studies is on autophagy. Autophagy is how the body removes unwanted molecules and cells. As we age, our ability to do so becomes compromised. However, this study done in 2021 found evidence that supplementing the body with CBD promotes autophagy. You can read our full article on CBD and aging here.

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Migraines and Headaches

While there are a wide variety of types of headaches, and the causes can range from internal states to external conditions, in general, the pain caused by a headache is due to the constriction of blood cells around the forehead, sinuses, and eyes. The anti-inflammatory properties of CBD can help reduce this blood cell constriction, helping you to find relief from the symptoms of a headache, including tinnitus. We have a great article on CBD and headaches if you want to know more about how it can help.

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High Blood Pressure

When you’re blood pressure is consistently too high, the inflammation of the blood cells in the inner ear can create the sensation of ringing or roaring. Luckily, CBD can help with blood pressure too. Not only is it anti-inflammatory, it also helps to relieve stress and anxiety. This study done in 2018 found evidence that reduced stress from CBD led to a decrease in blood pressure. If high blood pressure is something you struggle with, there are many strategies you can employ, and you can find them in our article on CBD and blood pressure.

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What We Can Take Away

Although tinnitus does not physically damage the body, there is no doubt that living day in and day out with an unceasing ringing of in the ears is like to drive anybody up the wall. Not only can it make something as simple as carrying on a conversation difficult, but the mental impact can also even lead to more serious issues like anxiety and depression. Because treating tinnitus means first identifying the underlying issue that is causing it, making that ringing stop can be a more difficult task than we would hope. While there are steps doctors can take to help, you can also supplement their efforts by using CBD. Because CBD helps to reduce inflammation, is neuroprotective, and is also useful in treating some of the potential underlying causes of tinnitus. It is worth keeping in mind that research on this subject is still sparse, but we are learning more with each passing day. If you have questions about what types of CBD options are available to you where to find more information about its therapeutic effects, our helpful and educated representatives are standing by to point you in the right direction. You can drop us a line in the comment section at the bottom of this article or reach out to us through our contact page. We look forward to hearing from you!