Over the last several decades the public opinion about cannabinoids and marijuana has changed significantly. Many states now allow the use of marijuana, THC, or cannabinoid products for medicinal reasons. Substantially fewer states have legalized pot for recreational purposes, but even that would have been unthinkable even just ten or fifteen years ago.
Any compounds produced by the cannabis plant (the marijuana plant, basically) are known as cannabinoids. And we’re still discovering new things about cannabis despite the fact that it’s recently been legalized in a number of states. It’s a common idea that cannabinoid compounds have extensive healing properties. There have been contradictory studies about cannabinoids and tinnitus but research suggests there may also be negative effects like a strong link between cannabinoid use and the development of tinnitus symptoms.
Various forms of cannabinoids
At present, cannabinoids can be consumed in many forms. Whatever name you want to put on 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 more.
Any of these forms that contain a THC level above 0.3% are technically still federally illegal and the available forms will vary by state. That’s why many people tend to be quite careful about cannabinoids.
The long-term complications and side effects of cannabinoid use are not well understood and that’s the issue. A great example is some new research into how your hearing is impacted by cannabinoid use.
Studies linking hearing to cannabinoids
Whatever you want to call it, cannabinoids have long been connected with helping a wide variety of medical disorders. According to anecdotal evidence vertigo, nausea, and seizures are just a few of the afflictions that cannabinoids can benefit. So researchers made a decision to find out if cannabinoids could help with tinnitus, too.
Turns out, cannabinoids may actually cause tinnitus. Ringing in the ears was documented, according to the study, by 20% of the participants who used cannabinoids. And tinnitus was never previously experienced by those participants. And tinnitus symptoms within 24 hours of consumption were 20-times more likely with people who use marijuana.
And for people who already experience ringing in the ears, using marijuana could actually exacerbate the symptoms. So, it would appear, from this persuasive research, that the relationship between cannabinoids and tinnitus is not a beneficial one.
It should be mentioned that smoking has also been associated with tinnitus and the research was unclear on how participants were consuming cannabinoids.
Unknown causes of tinnitus
The discovery of this link doesn’t expose the root cause of the relationship. That cannabinoids can have an influence on the middle ear and on tinnitus is pretty obvious. But what’s causing that impact is much less evident.
There’s bound to be additional research. Individuals will be in a better position to make better choices if we can make progress in understanding the connection between the numerous forms of cannabinoids and tinnitus.
Don’t fall for miracle cures
In recent years, there has been plenty of marketing publicity around cannabinoids. In part, that’s the result of changing mindsets associated with cannabinoids themselves (this also shows a growing wish to get away from opioid use). But some negative effects can come from the use of cannabinoids, particularly with regards to your hearing and this is reflected in this new research.
You’ll never be capable of avoiding all of the cannabinoid aficionados and evangelists in the world–the advertising for cannabinoids has been particularly intense lately.
But a powerful link between cannabinoids and tinnitus is definitely indicated by this research. So if you have tinnitus–or if you’re worried about tinnitus–it might be worth avoiding cannabinoids if you can, no matter how many advertisements for CBD oil you may come across. It’s not exactly clear what the link between tinnitus and cannabinoids so exercise some caution.
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References
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5855477/
https://www.medpagetoday.com/meetingcoverage/aaohnsf/82180