Woman with tinnitus and ringing in her ears getting a headache.

It’s well known that stress, especially for extended amounts of time, can be very harmful for your body. Stress can cause serious muscle pain and headaches. But did you recognize stress can also result in tinnitus, a ringing, buzzing, or clicking in the ears?

Tinnitus can be triggered by numerous different health factors, including stress, sinus infections, or loud sounds. Let’s examine a few potential causes of that aggravating ringing in your ears.

Unhealthy Stress – How to Identify it

How does stress relate to tinnitus? We often don’t consider the negative effect stress can have on our bodies or how it can result in troublesome, painful, or even severe medical problems. Disregarding stress isn’t a good idea.

Healthy Stress

Stress that persists a few minutes, or even several hours, can actually be helpful in accomplishing demanding tasks. Stress can provide a boost of energy and adrenalin to accomplish tasks and projects that really need to get done.

There is a difference, though, between healthy, short-term stress and unhealthy, destructive stress. The ability to accomplish goals can be helped by healthy stress while unhealthy stress can physically harm you.

Unhealthy Stress

Unhealthy stress is a consequence of the fear of something that, generally, never actually happens. Unhealthy stress is created when a person stays in a heightened state of anxiety for an extended period of time.

In dangerous situations, the fight or flight response is a natural reaction but it also is associates with unhealthy stress. When a person remains in a hyper-stressful state for an extended period, it can result in harmful physical symptoms.

Worrying

Unhealthy stress is commonly caused by worrying. The significance of a relationship or situation can often be exaggerated. We may convince ourselves we wrecked a chance at a promotion because of something we said. Unreasonable worrying can lead to intrusive, apparently unmanageable thoughts.

Intrusive Thoughts And Unhealthy Stress

We may think that we are falling behind and failing to complete our everyday tasks. We might obsess, talk to ourselves, or even panic. If we don’t take some positive steps to deal with this stress it will keep wearing down our body.

Typically, unhealthy stress affects the upper part of the body by producing muscle tension and pain. Affected areas might include the jaw, neck, head, or shoulders.

Jaw Tension And Anger

Have you ever read a book where the writer portrays a character as being so angry his jaw clenched in rage? Jaw strain is a common symptom of stress, anger, worry, and intrusive thoughts.

Pressure can be put on the fragile bones of the inner ear and eardrum by continuous tension. Eventually, this strain can produce ringing in your ears.

Sinus Infections And Ear Strain

From sore throats to stuffy noses, sinus infections bring lots of unwelcome symptoms.

Sinus infections cause headaches, sinus pressure, and ear pressure. A buzzing, clicking and ringing can be the outcome.

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 accumulated earwax this produces. Pressure on the little bones of the inner ear can cause tinnitus symptoms.

You might not need to see a hearing professional if the ringing is the result of a sinus infection, as the symptoms may improve by themselves. If the ringing continues for more than a few days, however, you should make an appointment with a hearing professional.

Prolonged Exposure to Loud Noises

Lasting ringing in the ears will probably not occur due to the occasional concert. However, you might be putting stress on the sensitive parts of your ear if you regularly expose yourself to intense sound.

Buzzing, Clicking, or ringing can be the outcome when the eardrum and inner ears are put under the enormous strain of repeated exposure to loud noises.

Beyond the periodic ringing in your ears, exposure to intense sounds over a prolonged period of time can result in temporary or lasting loss of hearing. Listening to music at a sensible volume and using ear protection when needed is indispensable for hearing health.

Protecting Your Hearing

Tinnitus isn’t something you should ignore whichever one of these is the cause. Getting your hearing checked by a hearing professional regularly is your best bet. For your peace of mind, you should get checked, especially if you think that your tinnitus is being triggered by a significant 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 personalized advice or treatment, schedule an appointment.
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