It’s well known that stress, particularly for prolonged amounts of time, can be very harmful to the body. Stress can produce significant muscle pain and headaches. But tinnitus, a buzzing, clicking, or ringing in the ears can also be the result.
Tinnitus can be caused by numerous different health factors, such as stress, sinus infections, or loud sounds. Let’s take a peak at some potential factors.
Unhealthy Stress – How to Identify it
You may be asking yourself how stress lends to tinnitus. We typically don’t consider the negative impact stress can have on our bodies or how it can lead to troublesome, painful, or even severe medical problems. Stress isn’t something you should disregard.
Healthy Stress
Stress that persists a few minutes, or even several hours, can actually play an important role in accomplishing demanding tasks. Stress can provide a boost of energy and adrenalin to accomplish tasks and projects that really need to get done.
But short term, healthy stress and long term, harmful stress are two very different things. The ability to accomplish goals can be helped by healthy stress while unhealthy stress can physically harm you.
Unhealthy Stress
Normally, an irrational fear is the source of unhealthy stress. When a person remains in a heightened state of anxiety, the outcome is usually unhealthy stress.
In dangerous conditions, the fight or flight response is a normal reaction but it also relates to unhealthy stress. Harmful physical symptoms happen when somebody remains in a hyper-stressful situation for prolonged periods.
Worrying
Worrying is an extremely common cause of unhealthy stress. The importance of an interaction or situation can often be exaggerated. We might tell ourselves we ruined a chance at a promotion because of something we said. Too much worrying can lead to invasive, seemingly unmanageable thoughts.
Unhealthy Stress And Intrusive Thoughts
We might believe that we are falling behind and failing to fulfill our day-to-day routine. We may obsess, talk to ourselves, or even panic. Ultimately, our unhealthy stress wears on our bodies unless we do something to curtail these thoughts.
Pain and muscle tension on the upper body are common effects of unhealthy stress. The shoulders, neck, head, and jaw are areas that can be impacted.
Jaw Tension And Anger
Have you ever heard someone express their anger as jaw clenching? Jaw strain is a common symptom of stress, worry, anger, and intrusive thoughts.
Pressure can be put on the fragile bones of the eardrum and inner ear by continuous tension. Over time, this strain can cause ringing in your ears.
Sinus Infections And Ear Strain
Sinus infections cause lots of unfavorable symptoms, from a soar throat to a stuffy nose.
Headaches, sinus pressure, and pressure in the ears are common symptoms of a sinus infection. A ringing, clicking, or buzzing can be the outcome.
During a sinus infection, your nasal congestion frequently spreads to your ears. Clogging in the ears and severe pressure on the eardrum will build up because of the excessive earwax this causes. Pressure on the fragile bones of the inner ear can lead to tinnitus symptoms.
If the ringing is brought on by a sinus infection it will most likely improve on its own and you won’t need to consult a hearing professional. But you should definitely make an appointment with us if the ringing persists for more than a few days.
Prolonged Exposure to Loud Noises
The occasional music performance probably won’t cause lasting ear-ringing. If you repeatedly expose your ears to intense sounds, however, you might be putting stress on the tender parts of your ears.
When you expose your ears to intense noises frequently, your eardrums and the bones of the inner ears are strained, which can produce ringing, buzzing, or clicking.
Beyond the intermittent ringing in your ears, exposure to loud sounds over a long period can result in temporary or lasting hearing loss. Listening to music at a reasonable volume and using ear protection when required is essential for hearing health.
Protecting Your Hearing
Whether caused by stress, muscle tension, an illness, or loud noises, tinnitus is nothing to ignore. Having your hearing examined by a hearing professional regularly is your best bet. If you think the ringing in your ears has a serious underlying medical cause, you should have them checked for your peace of mind.