\n<\/p>\n
Recently my wife returned from a night out with a ringing in one ear and significantly diminished hearing. It was a sure sign of injury caused by standing too close to a speaker. She was upset with herself for being so careless and concerned that the condition would persist. For the next couple days, she got extra sleep to aid recovery, and for good measure took an extra dose or two of CBD.<\/p>\n
For many other people of all ages, tinnitus is indeed a chronic condition that has nothing to do with loud \u201880s cover bands in small clubs. Risk factors span a wide range of physical and psychological conditions including concussion, smoking, certain medications, ear infection, high blood pressure, anxiety, depression, and, most commonly, age-related hearing loss.<\/p>\n
And it\u2019s not just ringing. Technically, tinnitus (pronounced tih-NITE-us or TIN-ih-tus) is the perception of sound originating from within the nervous system that\u2019s unrelated to external stimulation. Tinnitus can also be experienced as buzzing, whirring, humming, whooshing, clicking, and hissing. Whatever the precise nature of the phantom sound, it often comes with a constellation of symptoms related to the disruption such a condition can bring: sleep problems, difficulty concentrating, low mood, etc. Estimates vary, but tens of millions of people in the United States alone likely suffer from chronic tinnitus.<\/p>\n
My wife\u2019s ringing tinnitus did fade, and her hearing gradually improved over the course of a few days. The CBD she took may or may not have helped, but according to a recent survey of tinnitus patients, she wasn\u2019t alone in trying \u2014 or at least in being interested in cannabis as a potential remedy.<\/p>\n
The survey, whose findings were published in February 2023 in the\u00a0Journal of Otolaryngology \u2013 Head & Neck Surgery1\u00a0evaluated cannabis perceptions and consumption among 45 adult tinnitus patients randomly selected and recruited from an outpatient ear, nose, and throat clinic in Ontario, Canada.<\/p>\n
Among the 45 respondents, median age 55, only 10 said they were current cannabis users (19 had never used, and 16 had used in the past). But of the 10 current users, eight reported that cannabis did help with some of their tinnitus-related symptoms \u2014 if not necessarily the sound itself. Seven of the eight found it helpful for sleep disturbances, seven for pain, six for emotional complaints, four for functional difficulties, and three for dizziness symptoms. Only three of the ten found cannabis helpful for the actual auditory symptoms characterizing tinnitus.<\/p>\n
But many more patients were willing to try, perhaps as an indication of the intractability of chronic tinnitus. All but two of the 45 respondents said they\u2019d consider cannabis as a treatment, with 29 seeking help for sleep disturbances, 27 for emotional complaints, 25 for functional disturbances, and nine for pain. Of note, however, 41 of the 45 said they\u2019d turn to cannabis for auditory symptoms \u2014 the primary concern for most tinnitus patients yet the least improved by cannabis according to the survey\u2019s 10 current users.<\/p>\n
Interestingly, and perhaps unfortunately for patients, previous reviews in 2020 and 20192\u00a0also concluded there was insufficient evidence that cannabis can diminish chronic tinnitus.<\/p>\n
A December 2020 review in the journal Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology3\u00a0by researchers at Yale University and nearby University of Connecticut tackles the question head-on. Its title: \u201cDoes cannabis alleviate tinnitus? A review of the current literature.\u201d<\/p>\n
And its conclusion? \u201cWhile animal studies have revealed that cannabinoid receptors likely have a role in modulating auditory signaling, there is no compelling data either from animal or human studies for the use of cannabinoids to alleviate tinnitus.\u201d<\/p>\n
There could be a role for cannabinoids in the management of tinnitus through their anticonvulsant effects.<\/p>\n
In fact, there\u2019s some evidence from animal research that cannabinoid administration may actually induce or exacerbate tinnitus. That\u2019s what appeared to happen in rats injected with the synthetic CB1 agonists WIN55,212\u20102 and CP55,940 in a 2010 study4\u00a0and THC and CBD in a 1:1 ratio in a 2011 follow-up study.5<\/p>\n
As far as human studies, the review authors also summarize two previous surveys in 2010 and 2019, a 1975 clinical trial and a 2006 case study \u2014 whose cumulative findings are, at best, entirely unclear.<\/p>\n
Despite all this, there is a potential biological rationale for the treatment of tinnitus with cannabinoids, the authors explain. Other animal studies have suggested that cannabinoid receptor expression in the cochlear nucleus may vary with tinnitus symptomatology. And since the most widely accepted hypothesis for the pathophysiology of tinnitus relates to something called \u201cneuronal hyperexcitability\u201d \u2014 a mechanism that has also been observed in epilepsy, they note \u2014 \u201cthere is a potential role of cannabinoids in the management of tinnitus through its anticonvulsant effects.\u201d<\/p>\n
Finally, a November 2020 review in Frontiers in Neurology6\u00a0adds more complexity and subtlety to the issue. The article wisely notes that animal studies showing cannabinoids to potentially worsen tinnitus have focused on CB1 agonists. This excludes compounds that target, among others:<\/p>\n
CB2 receptors, which influence immune function and are \u201cincreasingly recognized as essential in understanding nervous system pathological responses\u201d<\/p>\n
and \u201cnon-classical\u201d cannabinoid targets like TRP (\u201ctrip\u201d) channels, which mediate processes including vision, taste, olfaction, touch and hearing.<\/p>\n
While the collective evidence to date is mixed and inconclusive, it\u2019s also incomplete. The potential is huge for new animal studies using cannabinoids other than CB1 agonists, and for more robust human studies (indeed any clinical trial at all) to contribute fresh insights to this burning, buzzing question.<\/p>\n
Nate Seltenrich, an independent science journalist based in the San Francisco Bay Area, covers a wide range of subjects including environmental health, neuroscience, and pharmacology. Copyright, Project CBD. May not be reprinted without\u00a0permission.<\/p>\n
Mavedatnia, Dorsa et al. \u201cCannabis use amongst tinnitus patients: consumption patterns and attitudes.\u201d Journal of otolaryngology \u2013 head & neck surgery vol. 52,1 19. 24 Feb. 2023, doi:10.1186\/s40463-022-00603-8<\/p>\n
Zheng, Yiwen, and Paul F Smith. \u201cCannabinoid drugs: will they relieve or exacerbate tinnitus?.\u201d Current opinion in neurology vol. 32,1 (2019): 131-136. doi:10.1097\/WCO.0000000000000631<\/p>\n
Narwani, Vishal et al. \u201cDoes cannabis alleviate tinnitus? A review of the current literature.\u201d Laryngoscope investigative otolaryngology vol. 5,6 1147-1155. 30 Oct. 2020, doi:10.1002\/lio2.479<\/p>\n
Zheng, Yiwen et al. \u201cThe effects of the synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists, WIN55,212-2 and CP55,940, on salicylate-induced tinnitus in rats.\u201d Hearing research vol. 268,1-2 (2010): 145-50. doi:10.1016\/j.heares.2010.05.015<\/p>\n
Zheng, Y et al. \u201cAcoustic trauma that can cause tinnitus impairs impulsive control but not performance accuracy in the 5-choice serial reaction time task in rats.\u201d Neuroscience vol. 180 (2011): 75-84. doi:10.1016\/j.neuroscience.2011.02.040<\/p>\n
Perin, Paola et al. \u201cCannabinoids, Inner Ear, Hearing, and Tinnitus: A Neuroimmunological Perspective.\u201d Frontiers in neurology vol. 11 505995. 23 Nov. 2020, doi:10.3389\/fneur.2020.505995<\/p><\/div>\n
\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"