Public opinion surrounding marijuana and cannabinoids has changed significantly over the past several decades. Cannabinoids, marijuana, and THC products are now legal for medical usage in many states. Substantially fewer states have legalized pot for recreational purposes, but even that would have been unthinkable even just ten or fifteen years ago.
Cannabinoids are any compounds derived from the cannabis plant (basically, the marijuana plant). In spite of 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. There have been contradictory studies about cannabinoids and tinnitus but research suggests there might also be negative effects such as a strong connection between the use of cannabinoids and the development of tinnitus symptoms.
Cannabinoids come in many forms
There are many varieties of cannabinoids that can be utilized nowadays. It isn’t just pot or weed or whatever name you want to put on it. These days, THC and cannabinoids are available in the form of a pill, as inhaled mists, as topical spreads, and more.
The forms of cannabinoids available will vary state by state, and many of those forms are still actually federally illegal if the THC content is above 0.3%. That’s why most individuals tend to be quite cautious about 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 research into how cannabinoids affect your hearing are prime examples.
Studies About cannabinoids and hearing
A wide array of disorders are believed to be effectively treated by cannabinoids. Seizures, vertigo, nausea, and more seem to be improved with cannabinoids, according to anecdotally available evidence. So the researchers wondered if cannabinoids could help treat tinnitus, too.
Turns out, cannabinoids might actually trigger tinnitus. Ringing in the ears was documented, according to the study, by 20% of the participants who used cannabinoids. 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 people who already experience ringing in the ears, using marijuana could actually exacerbate the symptoms. So, it would seem, from this compelling evidence, that the relationship between cannabinoids and tinnitus is not a positive one.
It should be noted that smoking has also been linked with tinnitus and the research was unclear on how participants were consuming cannabinoids.
Unclear causes of tinnitus
Just because this link has been discovered doesn’t necessarily mean the underlying causes are all that well comprehended. It’s quite clear that cannabinoids have an influence on the middle ear. But what’s causing that impact is much less evident.
Research, obviously, will carry on. People will be in a better position to make better choices if we can make progress in understanding the link between the many varieties of cannabinoids and tinnitus.
Don’t fall for miracle cures
There has undeniably been no lack of marketing publicity around cannabinoids recently. That’s in part because attitudes associated with cannabinoids are rapidly changing (and, to an extent, is also an indication of a desire to move away from opioids). But some negative effects can come from cannabinoid use, especially regarding your hearing and this is reflected in this new research.
Lately, there’s been aggressive marketing about cannabinoids and you’ll never avoid all of the cannabinoid enthusiasts.
But a strong link between cannabinoids and tinnitus is certainly indicated by this research. So if you are dealing with tinnitus–or if you’re worried about tinnitus–it may be worth steering clear of cannabinoids if you can, no matter how many adverts for CBD oil you might come across. It’s not exactly clear what the connection between tinnitus and cannabinoids so use 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
