Over the past several decades the public opinion about cannabinoids and marijuana has transformed significantly. Many states now allow the use of marijuana, THC, or cannabinoid products for medicinal reasons. Substantially fewer states have legalized marijuana for recreational reasons, but even that would have been unthinkable even just ten or fifteen years ago.

Any substances produced by the cannabis plant (the marijuana plant, basically) are known as cannabinoids. In spite of their recent legalization (in some states), we’re still discovering new things about cannabinoids. It’s a common belief 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.

Cannabinoids come in various forms

Nowadays, cannabinoids can be used in a number of forms. It isn’t just pot or weed or whatever name you want to put on it. Other forms can include topical spreads, edibles, inhaled vapors, pills, and others.

The forms of cannabinoids available will vary state by state, and most of those forms are still technically federally illegal if the amount of THC 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 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.

Research connecting hearing to cannabinoids

A wide array of disorders are believed to be effectively treated by cannabinoids. According to anecdotal evidence vertigo, nausea, and seizures are just a few of the conditions that cannabinoids can benefit. 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, more than 20% of study participants who used cannabinoid products documented hearing a ringing in their ears. And tinnitus was never previously experienced by those participants. What’s more, marijuana users were 20-times more likely to report experiencing tinnitus symptoms within 24 hours of consumption.

Further studies suggested that marijuana use may worsen ear-ringing symptoms in individuals who already suffer from tinnitus. So, it would seem, from this compelling evidence, that the relationship 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 connected to tinnitus symptoms.

Causes of tinnitus are unclear

The discovery of this connection doesn’t expose the root cause of the relationship. That cannabinoids can have an influence on the middle ear and on tinnitus is rather clear. But it’s much less clear what’s causing that impact.

Research, undoubtedly, will carry on. People will be in a better position to make wiser choices if we can make progress in comprehending the connection between the numerous varieties of cannabinoids and tinnitus.

Beware the miracle cure

Recently, there has been plenty of marketing publicity around cannabinoids. In part, that’s because of changing attitudes associated with cannabinoids themselves (and, to some extent, is also a reflection of a wish to move away from opioids). But this new research makes clear that cannabinoids can and do cause some negative effects, particularly if you’re concerned about your hearing.

Lately, there’s been aggressive advertising about cannabinoids and you’ll never escape all of the cannabinoid devotees.

But this research certainly indicates a powerful link between tinnitus and cannabinoids. So regardless of how many ads for CBD oil you see, you should avoid cannabinoids if you’re concerned about tinnitus. The connection between cannabinoids and tinnitus symptoms is unclear at best, so it’s worth using a little 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