Do you recall the old tale of Johnny Appleseed? In elementary school, you might have been taught that he migrated across the United States, bringing the gift of healthy apples to every community he visited (you should eat apples because they are good for you and that’s the moral of the story).
Actually, that isn’t the whole reality. The real Johnny Appleseed (whose real name was John Chapman) did indeed introduce apples to lots of states across the country around the turn of the 19th century. But apples were really different hundreds of years ago. They weren’t as sweet or tasty. In fact, they were generally only used for one thing: producing hard cider.
Yup, every community that Johnny Appleseed visited received the gift of booze.
Humans have a complex relationship with alcohol. On the one hand, it’s bad for your health (and not only in the long term, many of these health effects can be felt right away when you spend the early morning hours dizzy, vomiting, or passed out). But many individuals like to get a buzz.
This isn’t a new thing. Since humans have been recording history, people have been enjoying alcohol. But if you’re dealing with hearing issues, including tinnitus, it’s likely that your alcohol intake could be creating or exacerbating your symptoms.
Simply put, it isn’t only the loud music at the bar that’s bad for your hearing. It’s the beer, too.
Tinnitus can be triggered by alcohol
The fact that alcohol causes tinnitus is something that hearing specialists will generally verify. That shouldn’t be too big of a stretch to accept. You’ve most likely experienced “the spins” if you’ve ever had too much to drink. When you’re dizzy and the room feels like it’s spinning after drinking this is what’s known as “the spins”.
The spins will happen because the alcohol is interfering with the part of your body in control of balance: your inner ear.
And what other function does your inner ear play a part in? Hearing, of course! So if alcohol can cause the spins, it’s not hard to believe that it can also produce ringing or buzzing in your ears.
That’s because alcohol is an ototoxic substance
The word ototoxic may sound scary, but it just indicates something that can be damaging to your hearing. The whole auditory system from your ears to your brain is involved in this.
There are several ways that this plays out in practice:
- Alcohol can reduce flow of blood to your inner ear. The deficiency of blood flow can itself be an origin of damage.
- The stereocilia in your ears can be damaged by alcohol (these delicate hairs in your ears transmit vibrational information to your brain for further processing). These little hairs will never heal or grow back once they have been damaged.
- Alcohol can impact the neurotransmitters in your brain that are in control of hearing. So your brain isn’t working properly when alcohol is in your system (both decision making centers, and hearing centers are impacted).
Drinking-related hearing loss & tinnitus aren’t necessarily permanent
You might start to notice some symptoms when you’re out on the town having some drinks with friends.
These symptoms, luckily, are normally not permanent when caused by alcohol. Your tinnitus will typically go away along with most of your hearing loss when your body chemistry goes back to normal.
Of course, the longer alcohol is in your system, the longer it will take your ears to return to normal. And it may become irreversible if this type of damage keeps occurring continually. So if you drink too much too frequently, permanent damage could possibly happen.
Here are some other things that are happening
It isn’t just the alcohol, however. There are a couple of other factors that make the bar scene a little inhospitable for your ears.
- Alcohol causes other problems: Drinking is also bad for other aspects of your health. Diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and high blood pressure can be the result of alcohol abuse. And all of these problems can inevitably be life threatening, as well as worsen more severe tinnitus symptoms.
- Noise: Bars are normally pretty loud. Some of their appeal comes from…uh.. just this. But when you’re 40 or older it can be a bit much. There’s much fun and merriment, people yelling, and loud music. All of that noisiness can, over time, cause damage to your hearing.
Simply put, the mix of the environment and the alcohol make those late night bar trips a powerful (and hazardous) mix for your ears.
Does that mean it’s time to quit drinking?
Obviously, we’re not saying that drinking alone in a quiet room is the solution here. The underlying problem is the alcohol itself. So if you’re having difficulty moderating your drinking, you could be causing major problems for yourself, and for your hearing. You should speak with your doctor about how you can get treatment, and start on the road to being healthy again.
If you’ve detected a loud ringing in your ears after heavy drinking, schedule an appointment with us for a consultation.