\n<\/p>\n
Recently my wife returned from a night out with a ringing in one ear and significantly diminished hearing. It was a sure sign of injury caused by standing too close to a speaker. She was upset with herself for being so careless and concerned that the condition would persist. For the next couple days, she got extra sleep to aid recovery, and for good measure took an extra dose or two of CBD.<\/p>\n
For many other people of all ages, tinnitus is indeed a chronic condition that has nothing to do with loud \u201880s cover bands in small clubs. Risk factors span a wide range of physical and psychological conditions including concussion, smoking, certain medications, ear infection, high blood pressure, anxiety, depression, and, most commonly, age-related hearing loss.<\/p>\n
And it\u2019s not just ringing. Technically, tinnitus (pronounced tih-NITE-us or TIN-ih-tus) is the perception of sound originating from within the nervous system that\u2019s unrelated to external stimulation. Tinnitus can also be experienced as buzzing, whirring, humming, whooshing, clicking, and hissing. Whatever the precise nature of the phantom sound, it often comes with a constellation of symptoms related to the disruption such a condition can bring: sleep problems, difficulty concentrating, low mood, etc. Estimates vary, but tens of millions of people in the United States alone likely suffer from chronic tinnitus.<\/p>\n
My wife\u2019s ringing tinnitus did fade, and her hearing gradually improved over the course of a few days. The CBD she took may or may not have helped, but according to a recent survey of tinnitus patients, she wasn\u2019t alone in trying \u2014 or at least in being interested in cannabis as a potential remedy.<\/p>\n
The survey, whose findings were published in February 2023 in the\u00a0Journal of Otolaryngology \u2013 Head & Neck Surgery<\/em>1<\/sup>\u00a0<\/em>evaluated cannabis perceptions and consumption among 45 adult tinnitus patients randomly selected and recruited from an outpatient ear, nose, and throat clinic in Ontario, Canada.<\/p>\n Among the 45 respondents, median age 55, only 10 said they were current cannabis users (19 had never used, and 16 had used in the past). But of the 10 current users, eight reported that cannabis did help with some of their tinnitus-related symptoms \u2014 if not necessarily the sound itself. Seven of the eight found it helpful for sleep disturbances, seven for pain, six for emotional complaints, four for functional difficulties, and three for dizziness symptoms. Only three of the ten found cannabis helpful for the actual auditory symptoms characterizing tinnitus.<\/p>\n But many more patients were willing to try, perhaps as an indication of the intractability of chronic tinnitus. All but two of the 45 respondents said they\u2019d consider cannabis as a treatment, with 29 seeking help for sleep disturbances, 27 for emotional complaints, 25 for functional disturbances, and nine for pain. Of note, however, 41 of the 45 said they\u2019d turn to cannabis for auditory symptoms \u2014 the primary concern for most tinnitus patients yet the least improved by cannabis according to the survey\u2019s 10 current users.<\/p>\n I<\/em>nterestingly, and perhaps unfortunately for patients, previous reviews in 2020 and 20192<\/sup>\u00a0also concluded there was insufficient evidence that cannabis can diminish chronic tinnitus.<\/p>\n A December 2020 review in the journal Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology3<\/sup>\u00a0by researchers at Yale University and nearby University of Connecticut tackles the question head-on. Its title: \u201cDoes cannabis alleviate tinnitus? A review of the current literature.\u201d<\/p>\n And its conclusion? \u201cWhile animal studies have revealed that cannabinoid receptors likely have a role in modulating auditory signaling, there is no compelling data either from animal or human studies for the use of cannabinoids to alleviate tinnitus.\u201d<\/p>\nMixed Findings<\/h2>\n