Public opinion surrounding marijuana and cannabinoids have changed remarkably over the last several decades. Many states currently permit the use of marijuana, THC, or cannabinoid products for medicinal purposes. Ten or fifteen years ago it would have been unimaginable for marijuana to be legal for recreational use but some states have even passed this law.

A group of substances originating from the cannabis plant (the marijuana plant, essentially) are called cannabinoids. New things are being uncovered about cannabinoids all the time in spite of their recent decriminalization in some states. We usually consider these particular compounds as possessing universal healing qualities, but current research reveals there could also be negative impact including a strong link between cannabinoid use and the development of tinnitus symptoms.

Cannabinoids Have Numerous Types

There are many forms of cannabinoids that can be consumed now. It’s not just pot (or refer, or grass… ok, let’s just all agree right now that marijuana has many nicknames and move on). These days, THC and cannabinoids can be obtained in pill form, as topical spreads, as inhaled vapor, and lots of others.

Each state has different regulations regarding which types of cannabinoids you can buy, and many of those forms are still officially illegal under federal law if the amount of THC is more than 0.3%. So it’s still common for people to be very cautious about cannabinoids.

The issue is that we don’t yet know much about some of the potential side effects or risks of cannabinoid use. One example is the new information about how cannabinoids affect your hearing.

Cannabinoids And Your Hearing, Some New Research

A wide range of illnesses and medical conditions are believed to be improved by cannabinoids, regardless of what you like to call it. Based on evidence that is anecdotally available, conditions including Nausea, seizures, vertigo, and countless more seem to be improved by cannabinoids. So is it possible that cannabinoids help with tinnitus? That’s exactly what researchers resolved to figure out.

Turns out, cannabinoids may actually cause tinnitus. Ringing in the ears was documented by more than 29% of participants after implementing cannabinoids. And that’s in individuals who had never dealt with tinnitus before. Additionally, marijuana users were 20-times more likely to report experiencing tinnitus symptoms after 24 hours.

Additional research suggested that marijuana use could exacerbate ear-ringing symptoms in individuals who already deal with tinnitus. In other words, there’s some very strong evidence that tinnitus and cannabinoids don’t really mix very well.

How Cannabinoids Make Tinnitus Worse

There are a couple of tangible ways that cannabinoids can cause your tinnitus to get worse. The first is that your tinnitus can happen more frequently. Also, your bouts of tinnitus can become more intense when you use cannabinoids. More intense ringing that can be harder to ignore can be the result.

Cannabinoids have also been shown to cause the onset of tinnitus symptoms. Or, said another way: after you start using cannabinoids you may develop tinnitus symptoms even if you had no symptoms before.

Unknown Causes of Tinnitus

Just because this link has been discovered doesn’t inevitably mean the underlying causes are all that well known. It’s apparent that cannabinoids can have an effect on the middle ear and symptoms of tinnitus. But what’s causing that impact is far less evident.

But we do know that marijuana is one of the few commonly used mood-altering substances that brings about tinnitus (alcohol, as an example, hasn’t been demonstrated to have a strong connection with tinnitus).

Research, undoubtedly, will continue. Cannabinoids today come in so many types and forms that discovering the underlying link between these substances and tinnitus should help individuals make better choices.

The Miracle Cure Beware

There has undeniably been no shortage of marketing hype associated with cannabinoids in recent years. Partly, that’s the result of changing mindsets about cannabinoids themselves (and, to an extent, is also a reflection of a desire to turn away from opioid use). But this new research clearly shows that cannabinoids can and do bring about some negative consequence, especially if you’re concerned about your hearing.

The marketing about cannabinoids has been particularly assertive and you can’t entirely steer clear of all of the fanatics.

But this new research definitely reveals a solid link between cannabinoids and tinnitus. So if you suffer from tinnitus, or if you’re worried about tinnitus it may be worth keeping away from cannabinoids if you can, no matter how many adverts for CBD oil you may come across. The connection between cannabinoids and tinnitus symptoms has been pretty firmly established by the research, so it’s worth exercising a little caution.