It’s common knowledge that stress, particularly for prolonged periods, can be very harmful to the body. When you suffer from persistent stress, everything from serious muscle aches to headaches can be the outcome. But did you recognize stress can also lead to tinnitus, a ringing, buzzing, or clicking in the ears?
Tinnitus can be caused by various different health factors, including stress, sinus infections, or loud sounds. Let’s have a look at several potential causes of that annoying ringing in your ears.
Unhealthy Stress – How to Recognize it
How does stress relate to tinnitus? We generally don’t think about the negative influence stress can have on our bodies or how it can lead to troublesome, painful, or even serious medical problems. Stress isn’t something you should ignore.
Healthy Stress
Short term stress can actually be a really motivating factor when it comes to accomplishing tasks. If you’re dealing with a deadline and need to focus on finishing a project, stress can be an ally by supplying the boost of energy required to get the job done.
There is a difference, however, between healthy, temporary stress and unhealthy, harmful stress. The ability to complete goals can be assisted by healthy stress while unhealthy stress can physically harm you.
Unhealthy Stress
Unhealthy stress is caused by the fear of something that, more often than not, never actually occurs. When a person remains in a heightened state of anxiety, the outcome is usually unhealthy stress.
In dangerous situations, the fight or flight response is a normal reaction but it also relates to unhealthy stress. Harmful physical symptoms occur when somebody stays in a hyper-stressful situation for extended periods.
Worrying
Unhealthy stress is often caused by worrying. The significance 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. When you worry like this your intrusive thoughts can really run away from you.
Unhealthy Stress And Intrusive Thoughts
We might think that we are falling behind and failing to complete our day-to-day schedule. Fixation, perpetual internal dialog, and even panic attacks are a common part of this kind of stress. If we don’t take a few positive steps to manage this stress it will continue to wear down our body.
Usually, unhealthy stress affects the upper part of the body by creating muscle tension and pain. Impacted areas may include the head, neck, jaw, or shoulders.
Anger And Jaw Tension
Have you ever heard someone depict their anger as jaw clenching? Jaw strain is a common symptom of stress, anger, worry, and intrusive thoughts.
Pressure can be put on the fragile bones of the eardrum and inner ear by sustained tension. Over time, this strain can cause ringing in your ears.
Ear Strain And Sinus Infections
Sinus infections bring lots of unfavorable symptoms, from a stuffy nose to a soar throat.
Sinus infections generate sinus pressure, headaches, and pressure in the ears. A buzzing, clicking and ringing can be the outcome.
Nasal congestion frequently spreads to the ears during the course of a sinus infection. Blockage in the ears and severe pressure on the eardrum will develop because of the excessive earwax this produces. Pressure on the tiny bones of the inner ear can cause tinnitus symptoms.
You may not need to go to a hearing professional if the ringing is being caused by a sinus infection, as the symptoms could clear up by themselves. If the ringing lasts for more than a few days, however, you should schedule an appointment with a hearing professional.
Extended Exposure to Loud Noises
The occasional music concert is probably not going to cause long-term ear-ringing. However, you could be putting stress on the sensitive parts of your ear if you routinely expose yourself to intense sound.
When you expose your ears to intense noises frequently, your eardrums and the bones of the inner ears are put under a great deal of strain, which can result in ringing, buzzing, or clicking.
Above and beyond ringing in the ears, temporary or even lasting hearing loss can be the outcome of repeated exposure to loud noises. It’s important to protect your ears from the elements and listen to music at a reasonable volume level.
Safeguarding Your Ears
Whether caused by stress, muscle tension, an illness, or loud noises, tinnitus is nothing to ignore. It’s best to have your ears tested on a regular basis. If you think the ringing in your ears has a serious hidden medical cause, you should get them examined for your peace of mind.