As you probably appreciate, extended periods of stress are not healthy for the body. When you are afflicted by persistent stress, everything from serious muscle aches to headaches can be the result. But did you know stress can also lead to tinnitus, a ringing, buzzing, or clicking in the ears?
Tinnitus can be triggered by numerous different health factors, including stress, sinus infections, or loud noises. Let’s have a peak at some potential causes.
How to Distinguish Unhealthy Stress
How does stress relate to tinnitus? It’s often easy to take for granted how serious the medical consequence of stress can be on our bodies. Stress isn’t something you should ignore.
Healthy Stress
Short term stress can actually be a very motivating factor when it comes to accomplishing duties. If you’re dealing with a deadline and have to focus on completing a project, stress can be an ally by providing the boost of energy needed to finish the job.
There is a difference, however, between healthy, short-term stress and unhealthy, destructive stress. The ability to complete goals can be assisted by healthy stress while unhealthy stress can physically harm you.
Unhealthy Stress
Usually, an irrational fear is the source of unhealthy stress. When a person stays in a heightened state of anxiety, the outcome is usually unhealthy stress.
In dangerous situations, the fight or flight response is a natural reaction but it also relates to unhealthy stress. Harmful physical symptoms occur when somebody stays in a hyper-stressful circumstance for prolonged periods.
Worrying
Unhealthy stress is commonly the result of worrying. We may exaggerate the significance of a situation or an interaction with other people. We may have ourselves convinced that we said or did something to ruin our chances at a promotion. When you worry like this your invasive thoughts can really get away from you.
Intrusive Thoughts And Unhealthy Stress
We might think that we are falling behind and failing to complete our daily routine. We may obsess, talk to ourselves, or even panic. If we don’t take some positive measures to deal with this stress it will keep wearing down our body.
Typically, unhealthy stress impacts the upper part of the body by creating pain and muscle tension. Affected areas may include the jaw, neck, head, or shoulders.
Jaw Tension And Anger
Have you ever heard someone depict their anger as jaw clenching? Jaw tension is a common symptom of stress, worry, anger, and invasive thoughts.
Sustained tension can put pressure on the fragile bones of the inner ear and eardrum. Over time, this strain can lead to ringing in your ears.
Ear Strain And Sinus Infections
Sinus infections bring many unwelcome symptoms, from a stuffy nose to a soar throat.
Headaches, sinus pressure, and pressure in the ears are typical symptoms of a sinus infection. These issues can trigger ringing, buzzing, and clicking in the ears.
A stuffy nose frequently spreads to the ears during a sinus infection. Clogging in the ears and severe pressure on the eardrum will develop because of the excessive earwax this causes. And with this comes ringing in the ears.
If the ringing is brought on by a sinus infection it will probably go away on its own and you won’t have to consult an audiologist. But you should certainly schedule an appointment with us if the ringing continues for more than a few days.
Extended Exposure to Loud Noises
The occasional music performance probably won’t cause lasting ear-ringing. If you routinely expose your ears to intense sounds, however, you may be putting stress on the tender areas of your ears.
Ringing, clicking, or buzzing can be the result when the eardrum and inner ears are put under the enormous strain of frequent exposure to intense noises.
Beyond the periodic ringing in your ears, exposure to loud sounds over a prolonged period can trigger temporary or permanent loss of hearing. It’s important to protect your hearing from the elements and listen to music at a sensible volume level.
Protecting Your Ears
Whether caused by stress, muscle tension, an illness, or loud noises, tinnitus is nothing to ignore. Getting your hearing checked by a hearing professional frequently is the smartest thing you can do. For your peace of mind, you should get examined, especially if you suspect that your tinnitus is being triggered by a significant underlying medical issue.