Do you recollect the old tale of Johnny Appleseed? In elementary school, you may have been taught that he traveled across the US, bringing the gift of healthy apples to every community he visited (you should eat apples because they’re good for you and that’s the moral of the story).
That’s only partially true. The real Johnny Appleseed (whose real name was John Chapman) did indeed bring apples to many states across the country at about the end of the 19th century. But apples weren’t as delicious and sweet as modern apples. In truth, they were mainly only utilized for one thing: creating hard cider.
That’s right. Johnny Appleseed was bringing booze to every neighborhood he visited.
Humans have a complex relationship with alcohol. On the one hand, it’s terrible for your health (and not just in the long run, many of these health impacts 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 behavior goes back into the early mists of time. Since we’ve been recording history, people have been indulging in alcohol. But if you have hearing problems, including tinnitus, it’s possible that your alcohol consumption could be generating or exacerbating your symptoms.
Simply put, it’s not just the loud music at the bar that’s bad for your hearing. It’s also the cocktails.
Drinking alcohol causes tinnitus
The fact that alcohol triggers tinnitus is something that hearing specialists will typically validate. That shouldn’t be too big of a stretch to believe. You’ve most likely experienced “the spins” if you’ve ever had too much to drink. That’s where you get really, really dizzy and the room feels like it’s, well, spinning (especially with your eyes closed).
The spins will manifest because the alcohol is interfering with the part of your body responsible for balance: your inner ear.
And what else is your inner ear used for? Naturally, your ability to hear. So if alcohol can cause the spins, it isn’t hard to believe that it can also create ringing or buzzing in your ears.
Ototoxic compounds, including alcohol, will cause tinnitus
Now there’s an intimidating word: ototoxic. But it’s actually just a fancy term for something that damages the auditory system. The entire auditory system from your ears to your brain is involved in this.
Here are a number of ways this can play out:
- There are neurotransmitters in your brain that deal with hearing which can be damaged by alcohol. So your brain isn’t working efficiently when alcohol is in your system (obviously, decision-making centers are impacted; but so, too, are the portions of your brain responsible for hearing).
- Alcohol can degrade the stereocilia in your ears (these delicate hairs in your ears transmit vibrational information to your brain for further processing). Once those tiny hairs are compromised, there’s no coming back.
- Alcohol can decrease blood flow to your inner ear. This alone can become a source of damage (most regions of your body don’t particularly like being starved of blood).
Drinking-associated hearing loss & tinnitus aren’t always permanent
You might begin to notice some symptoms when you’re out on the town having a few drinks with friends.
These symptoms, thankfully, are usually not permanent when related to alcohol. Your tinnitus will typically clear up along with most of your hearing loss when your body chemistry returns to normal.
Naturally, the longer alcohol is in your system, the longer it will take your ears to return to normal. And if this type of damage is repeated regularly, it could become irreversible. In other words, it’s completely possible (if not likely) that you can generate both permanent tinnitus and hearing loss by drinking too much and too frequently.
A couple of other things are happening too
Of course, it’s more than simply the booze. There are a couple of other factors that make the bar scene somewhat more unfriendly to your ears.
- Noise: The first is that bars are typically, well, loud. That’s part of their… uh… appeal? Look, if you’re 20 it’s fine; if you’re 40 it’s a little bit much. There’s much fun and merriment, people talking, and loud music. Your hearing can be compromised over time by this.
- Alcohol leads to other issues: Drinking is also detrimental to other facets of your health. Diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and high blood pressure can be the result of alcohol abuse. And more profound tinnitus symptoms as well as life threatening health issues could be the result.
The point is, there are significant risks to your health and your hearing in these late night bar visits.
Does that mean it’s time to quit drinking?
Obviously, we’re not suggesting that drinking alone in a quiet room is the solution here. The underlying problem is the alcohol itself. So you may be doing substantial harm to your health and hearing if you’re having difficulty moderating your drinking. You should speak with your doctor about how you can seek treatment, and start on the path to being healthy again.
If you’ve noticed a loud ringing in your ears after heavy drinking, schedule an appointment with us for a consultation.