Public opinion surrounding marijuana and cannabinoids has transformed significantly over the last several decades. Cannabinoids, marijuana, and THC products are now allowed for medical usage in many states. Far fewer states have legalized pot for recreational reasons, but even that would have been unimaginable even just ten or fifteen years ago.
Cannabinoids are any compounds produced by the cannabis plant (essentially, the marijuana plant). Despite their recent legalization (in some states), we’re still learning new things about cannabinoids. It’s a common idea that cannabinoid compounds have extensive healing properties. But research implies a strong connection between the use of cannabinoids and tinnitus symptoms but there are also contradictory studies.
Numerous forms of cannabinoids
Today, cannabinoids can be used in many varieties. Whatever name you want to put on it, pot or weed isn’t the only form. These days, THC and cannabinoids are available in the form of a pill, as topical spreads, as inhaled mists, and more.
The forms of cannabinoids available will differ state by state, and most of those forms are still actually federally illegal if the THC content is above 0.3%. So it’s essential to be careful with the use of cannabinoids.
The issue is that we don’t yet know very much about some of the long-term side effects or complications of cannabinoid use. Some new studies into how cannabinoids impact your hearing are perfect examples.
Studies About cannabinoids and hearing
Whatever you want to call it, cannabinoids have long been connected with improving a wide variety of medical conditions. Seizures, vertigo, nausea, and more seem to be helped with cannabinoids, according to anecdotally available evidence. So researchers decided to find out if cannabinoids could treat tinnitus, too.
But what they discovered was that tinnitus symptoms can actually be caused by the use of cannabinoids. According to the research, over 20% of study participants who used cannabinoid products reported hearing a ringing in their ears. And that’s in individuals who had never experienced tinnitus before. Furthermore, marijuana users were 20-times more likely to describe experiencing tinnitus symptoms within 24 hours of consumption.
And for those who already cope with ringing in the ears, using marijuana would actually worsen the symptoms. So, it would appear, from this compelling research, that the link between cannabinoids and tinnitus is not a beneficial one.
The research isn’t clear as to how the cannabinoids were consumed but it should be pointed out that smoking has also been linked to tinnitus symptoms.
Causes of tinnitus are unclear
Just because this link has been uncovered doesn’t automatically mean the underlying causes are all that well comprehended. It’s pretty clear that cannabinoids have an influence on the middle ear. But it’s a lot less clear what’s causing that impact.
Research, obviously, will continue. Cannabinoids today come in so many varieties and forms that understanding the underlying connection between these substances and tinnitus could help people make wiser choices.
Beware the miracle cure
In recent years, there has been lots of marketing hype surrounding cannabinoids. That’s in part because attitudes surrounding cannabinoids are quickly changing (this also reflects a growing wish to get away from opioid use). But this new research clearly demonstrates that cannabinoids can and do cause some negative effects, especially if you’re concerned about your hearing.
Lately, there’s been aggressive marketing about cannabinoids and you’ll never escape all of the cannabinoid devotees.
But this research certainly suggests a strong link between tinnitus and cannabinoids. 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 exercise some caution.
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