As you most likely recognize, prolonged periods of stress aren’t good for the body. Stress can produce severe muscle aches and headaches. But did you know stress can also trigger tinnitus, a ringing, buzzing, or clicking in the ears?
Tinnitus can be caused by many different health factors, such as stress, sinus infections, or loud sounds. Let’s take a peak at some potential factors.
How to Distinguish Unhealthy Stress
How does stress relate to tinnitus? We often don’t think about the negative influence stress can have on our bodies or how it can cause troublesome, painful, or even serious medical conditions. Stress isn’t something you should neglect.
Healthy Stress
Stress that persists a few minutes, or even several hours, can actually play an important role in accomplishing demanding tasks. If you’re dealing with a deadline and need to focus on accomplishing a project, stress can be an ally by providing the boost of energy necessary to finish the job.
But short term, healthy stress and chronic, harmful stress are two very different things. The ability to complete goals can be assisted by healthy stress while unhealthy stress can physically harm you.
Unhealthy Stress
Often, an irrational fear is the cause of unhealthy stress. Unhealthy stress is generated when an individual stays in a heightened state of anxiety for an extended period of time.
Unhealthy stress relates to our “fight or flight” response, a natural reaction that helps keep us protected in dangerous situations. When an individual stays in a hyper-stressful state for an extended period of time, it can result in harmful physical symptoms.
Worrying
Worrying is a really common cause of unhealthy stress. We might exaggerate the significance of a situation or a relationship with another person. We may have ourselves convinced that we said or did something to hurt our chances at a promotion. When you worry in this way your intrusive thoughts can really get away from you.
Unhealthy Stress And Intrusive Thoughts
We might worry about what we failed to get completed today and worry over what we need to get done tomorrow. Fixation, endless internal dialog, and even panic attacks are a common part of this type of stress. If we don’t take a few positive measures to manage this stress it will continue to wear down our body.
Normally, unhealthy stress affects the upper part of the body by producing muscle tension and pain. Impacted areas might include the jaw, neck, head, or shoulders.
Jaw Tension And Anger
Have you ever read a book where the writer talks about a character as being so angry his jaw clenched in rage? Jaw strain is a common symptom of stress, anger, worry, and intrusive thoughts.
Continuous tension can put pressure on the fragile bones of the eardrum and inner ear. Over time, this strain can cause ringing in your ears.
Ear Strain And Sinus Infections
From sore throats to stuffy noses, sinus infections produce lots of undesired symptoms.
Sinus infections generate sinus pressure, headaches, and ear pressure. These problems can lead to buzzing, clicking, or ringing in the ears.
If you have a sinus infection, your nasal congestion often spreads to your ears. Blockage in the ears and extreme pressure on the eardrum will build up because of the accumulated earwax this creates. And with this comes ringing in the ears.
You might not need to visit a hearing professional if the ringing is being caused by a sinus infection, as the symptoms may clear up on their own. But you should absolutely make an appointment with us if the ringing continues for more than a few days.
Extended Exposure to Loud Noises
Long-term ringing in the ears will most likely not manifest due to the occasional concert. However, you may be putting stress on the delicate parts of your ear if you regularly expose yourself to intense sound.
Buzzing, Clicking, or ringing can be the result when the eardrum and inner ears are put under the enormous strain of continual exposure to loud noises.
Above and beyond tinnitus, temporary or even lasting hearing loss can be the outcome of repeated exposure to loud noises. Listening to music at a reasonable volume and using ear protection when required is crucial for hearing health.
Protecting Your Ears
Tinnitus is not something you should ignore regardless of which one of these is causing it. Having your hearing tested by a hearing professional regularly is the smartest thing you can do. For your peace of mind, you should get examined, particularly if you suspect that your tinnitus is being caused by a serious underlying medical issue.
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The site information is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. To receive a personalized free hearing test and hearing loss consultation, call today to set up an appointment.
