Over the past several decades the public perception of cannabinoids and marijuana has changed a lot. Many states now allow the use of marijuana, THC, or cannabinoid products for medicinal purposes. Substantially fewer states have legalized pot for recreational purposes, but even that would have been unimaginable 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 in spite of the fact that it’s recently been legalized in numerous states. It’s a common idea that cannabinoid compounds have widespread healing qualities. But research suggests a strong connection between the use of cannabinoids and tinnitus symptoms but there are also conflicting studies.
Numerous forms of cannabinoids
There are many forms of cannabinoids that can be used nowadays. Whatever name you want to give it, pot or weed is not the only form. Other forms can include topical spreads, edibles, pills, inhalable vapors, and more.
The forms of cannabinoids available will differ state by state, and many of those forms are still actually illegal under federal law if the THC content is above 0.3%. That’s why most people tend to be quite cautious about cannabinoids.
The long-term complications and side effects of cannabinoid use are not well understood and that’s the problem. A good example is some new research into how your hearing is affected by cannabinoid use.
Research connecting hearing to cannabinoids
A wide array of conditions are believed to be successfully treated by cannabinoids. Seizures, vertigo, nausea, and more seem to be helped with cannabinoids, according to anecdotally available evidence. So the researchers wondered if cannabinoids could help treat tinnitus, too.
But what they discovered was that tinnitus symptoms can actually be triggered 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 previously experienced by those participants. And tinnitus symptoms within 24 hours of consumption were 20-times higher with marijuana users.
And for individuals who already experience ringing in the ears, using marijuana could actually exacerbate the symptoms. In other words, there’s some fairly compelling evidence that cannabinoids and tinnitus don’t really work well together.
It should be mentioned that smoking has also been associated with tinnitus and the research wasn’t clear on how participants were using cannabinoids.
Causes of tinnitus are not clear
The discovery of this connection doesn’t expose the underlying cause of the relationship. That cannabinoids can have an affect on the middle ear and on tinnitus is fairly obvious. But what’s producing that impact is much less evident.
Research, undoubtedly, will carry on. Cannabinoids today come in so many varieties and types that comprehending the root link between these substances and tinnitus could help people make better choices.
Don’t fall for miracle cures
In recent years, there has been lots of marketing publicity surrounding cannabinoids. That’s in part because mindsets associated with cannabinoids are swiftly changing (and, to an extent, is also an indication of a desire to turn away from opioids). But some negative effects can result from cannabinoid use, especially with regards to your hearing and this is demonstrated in this new research.
You’ll never be capable of avoiding all of the cannabinoid aficionados and devotees in the world–the marketing for cannabinoids has been especially aggressive lately.
But a powerful link between cannabinoids and tinnitus is definitely indicated by this research. So no matter how many ads for CBD oil you see, you should avoid cannabinoids if you’re concerned about tinnitus. It’s not exactly clear what the connection between tinnitus and cannabinoids so use some caution.
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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