Over the past several decades the public opinion about cannabinoids and marijuana has transformed a lot. Many states now allow the use of marijuana, THC, or cannabinoid products for medicinal reasons. Substantially fewer states have legalized pot for recreational reasons, but even that would have been unthinkable even just ten or fifteen years ago.
Any compounds derived from the cannabis plant (the marijuana plant, essentially) are known as cannabinoids. And we’re still learning new things about cannabis despite the fact that it’s recently been legalized in several states. It’s a common idea that cannabinoid compounds have extensive healing properties. But research suggests a strong link between the use of cannabinoids and tinnitus symptoms but there are also conflicting studies.
Cannabinoids come in many forms
There are many forms of cannabinoids that can be consumed presently. Whatever name you want to give it, pot or weed isn’t the only form. These days, THC and cannabinoids are available in pill form, as inhaled mists, as topical spreads, and others.
The forms of cannabinoids available will vary state by state, and most of those forms are still technically illegal under federal law if the THC content is over 0.3%. So it’s important to be cautious with the use of cannabinoids.
The problem is that we don’t yet know much about some of the long-term side effects or complications of cannabinoid use. Some new research into how cannabinoids impact your hearing are prime examples.
Studies linking hearing to cannabinoids
A wide array of conditions are believed to be successfully managed by cannabinoids. According to anecdotal evidence vertigo, nausea, and seizures are just a few of the conditions that cannabinoids can help. So researchers decided to find out if cannabinoids could help with tinnitus, too.
But what they found was that tinnitus symptoms can actually be caused by the use of cannabinoids. Ringing in the ears was reported, according to the study, by 20% of the participants who used cannabinoids. And tinnitus was never formerly experienced by those participants. What’s more, marijuana users were 20-times more likely to describe experiencing tinnitus symptoms within 24 hours of consumption.
Further research suggested that marijuana use could worsen ear-ringing symptoms in people who already have tinnitus. In other words, there’s some rather convincing evidence that cannabinoids and tinnitus don’t really mix all that well.
It should be noted that smoking has also been associated with tinnitus and the research was unclear on how participants were using cannabinoids.
Unclear causes of tinnitus
The discovery of this link doesn’t expose the root cause of the relationship. That cannabinoids can have an affect on the middle ear and on tinnitus is fairly clear. But what’s causing that impact is a lot less evident.
Research, undoubtedly, will carry on. People will be in a better position to make smarter choices if we can make progress in comprehending the link between the many varieties of cannabinoids and tinnitus.
Beware the miracle cure
Recently, there has been lots of marketing publicity around cannabinoids. That’s in part because mindsets surrounding cannabinoids are quickly changing (this also demonstrates a growing wish to get away from the use of opioids). But this new research makes clear that cannabinoids can and do cause some negative effects, especially if you’re concerned about your hearing.
Lately, there’s been aggressive advertising about cannabinoids and you’ll never avoid all of the cannabinoid enthusiasts.
But this research undeniably indicates a strong link between tinnitus and cannabinoids. So if you are dealing with tinnitus–or if you’re worried about tinnitus–it may be worth steering clear of cannabinoids if you can, no matter how many adverts for CBD oil you may come across. The connection between cannabinoids and tinnitus symptoms is unclear at best, so it’s worth using a little caution.
Call Today to Set Up an Appointment
References
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/lio2.479
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5855477/
https://www.medpagetoday.com/meetingcoverage/aaohnsf/82180