You hear a ringing in your ears when you wake up in the morning. This is weird because they weren’t doing that yesterday. So you start thinking about possible causes: lately, you’ve been keeping your music at a lower volume and you haven’t been working in a loud environment. But you did take some aspirin for your headache before bed.
Could it be the aspirin?
And that possibility gets your brain working because maybe it is the aspirin. You feel like you recall hearing that certain medications can produce tinnitus symptoms. is aspirin one of those medications? And if so, should you stop taking it?
Medication And Tinnitus – What’s The Link?
The long standing rumor has associated tinnitus symptoms with numerous medications. But those rumors aren’t quite what you’d call well-founded.
The common thought is that tinnitus is widely viewed as a side effect of a diverse swath of medicines. But the reality is that only a small number of medications lead to tinnitus symptoms. So why do so many people believe tinnitus is such a prevalent side effect? Well, there are a couple of theories:
- Your blood pressure can be changed by many medications which in turn can cause tinnitus symptoms.
- Beginning a new medicine can be stressful. Or more often, it’s the underlying condition that you’re using the medication to manage that causes stress. And stress is commonly linked to tinnitus. So in this situation, the tinnitus symptoms aren’t being produced by the medicine. It’s the stress of the whole ordeal, though the confusion between the two is somewhat understandable.
- The condition of tinnitus is fairly prevalent. More than 20 million individuals deal with chronic tinnitus. Some coincidental timing is unavoidable when that many individuals suffer with tinnitus symptoms. Enough people will begin using medicine around the same time that their unrelated tinnitus starts to act up. Because the timing is, coincidentally, so close, people make some erroneous (but understandable) assumptions about cause-and-effect.
Which Medicines Can Cause Tinnitus?
There are a few medicines that do have a well-established (that is, scientifically established) cause-and-effect relationship with tinnitus.
The Link Between Strong Antibiotics And Tinnitus
There are ototoxic (damaging to the ears) properties in a few antibiotics. Known as aminoglycosides, these antibiotics are quite powerful and are often saved for extreme situations. High doses are known to produce damage to the ears (including some tinnitus symptoms), so such dosages are usually limited.
Medicines For High Blood Pressure
Diuretics are often prescribed for people who are dealing with hypertension (high blood pressure). When the dosage is substantially higher than normal, some diuretics will trigger tinnitus.
Ringing in The Ears Can be Produced by Taking Aspirin
And, yes, the aspirin could have been what brought about your tinnitus. But here’s the thing: Dosage is again very important. Generally speaking, tinnitus starts at extremely high dosages of aspirin. The doses you take for a headache or to ward off heart disease aren’t often big enough to cause tinnitus. But when you stop taking high doses of aspirin, fortunately, the ringing tends to recede.
Consult Your Doctor
Tinnitus may be able to be caused by a couple of other unusual medications. And the interaction between some combinations of medications can also produce symptoms. That’s why your best course of action is going to be talking about any medication concerns you may have with your doctor or pharmacist.
You should also get checked if you start noticing tinnitus symptoms. It’s hard to say for certain if it’s the medication or not. Often, hearing loss is present when tinnitus symptoms develop, and treatments like hearing aids can help.
