Is Having Tinnitus A Sign Of Having High Blood Pressure?

Tinnitus is a common problem for many Americans of all ages. This unfortunate condition is characterized by a constant ringing sound in the ear. More recently, tinnitus has been linked to a condition known as high blood pressure.

What Is High Blood Pressure?

High blood pressure is characterized by unhealthy pressure levels in your blood as it moves throughout your body. As your heart pumps blood around your body, it can meet resistance in your blood vessels and arteries. This resistance is what causes your blood pressure level to rise. High blood pressure typically results from narrowing arteries and vessels throughout the body.

Tinnitus: A Sign Of High Blood Pressure

In more recent years, research has suggested that there is a link between tinnitus and high blood pressure. Patients who have been diagnosed with high blood pressure commonly report that they experience tinnitus symptoms. These sounds that individuals hear include ringing, buzzing, clicking, hissing, rushing, and roaring. Furthermore, one study revealed that 44.4% of patients diagnosed with tinnitus were also diagnosed with hypertension. Hypertension is a condition that precedes an official high blood pressure diagnosis.

It’s thought that the link between high blood pressure and tinnitus is due to the delicate network of vessels that comprise the auditory system. When blood pressure increases through narrow vessels near the auditory system, it results in the patient experiencing constant noise in their ears. In many cases, the tinnitus sounds these patients may hear are described as pumping, pulsing, and beating. These unique sounds are attributed to the added pressure on the narrow vessels around the auditory nerve.

Treating The Underlying Cause Of Tinnitus

Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all treatment for tinnitus. Rather, treating the symptom of tinnitus comes down to treating its underlying condition. Tinnitus can be caused by numerous health conditions. Some of these include earwax buildup, ototoxic medication side effects, allergies, ear infections, exposure to loud noise, migraines, and even high blood pressure.

In the case of high blood pressure, making changes to reduce blood pressure levels is the key to helping to eliminate the tinnitus symptoms that patients experience. Some highly recommended ways to reduce high blood pressure include dietary changes, lifestyle changes, increased exercise, and medication usage. As patients can sustain lower blood pressure levels, their occurrences of tinnitus become less frequent. Many eventually report no tinnitus symptoms at all.

Call Us Today

If you’re experiencing tinnitus, then it’s time to contact the specialists at Beltone Chicago. Let our helpful hearing care specialists assess your situation and provide you with the best treatment recommendation to meet your individualized hearing needs.

Resources:
https://andersonaudiology.com/are-ringing-ears-a-sign-of-high-blood-pressure/