Are you experiencing a ringing in your ears? Did the Tinnitus come on after you became dehydrated? Can dehydration really cause or worsen Tinnitus? Let’s explore the dehydration and Tinnitus connection.
4 Ways Dehydration Can Cause a Ringing In Your Ears
Before we get into the 4 ways dehydration can cause Tinnitus, please know that Tinnitus caused by dehydration is usually very temporary in nature. If a lack of water is causing your ears to ring, it should go away when you are adequately hydrated. How would you know it is going away? You will typically experience these signs that Tinnitus is going away, over a few days.
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1 By reducing or increasing blood pressure
Your ears rely on oxygen to function. And your blood is the only carrier that brings oxygen to your ears. An unfavorable increase or decrease in blood pressure will adversely affect the amount of nutrients your ears receive.
Dehydration can cause both an increase or decrease in blood pressure. A decrease could be brought about simply because there is less blood in your body, due to reduced water content.
On the other hand, dehydration can also increase the sodium levels in your blood, as blood volume is decreased. This then causes a hormone called vasopressin to be secreted. Vasopressin then makes your kidneys reabsorb free water which can then significantly raise blood pressure.
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Increased blood pressure can then also affect the functioning of your ears, causing or worsening a problem like Tinnitus.
You can learn more about how dehydration affects your blood pressure here.
2 By Affecting Ear Bone Lubrication
Your body has cartilage around all its bones and joints. The purpose of cartilage is to provide a lubricating or cushioning effect for bones in motion. And your inner ear has a set of three bones that work with one another. They are called the malleus, incus and staples. When you are dehydrated, the cartilage around these tiny but very important bones is compromised, potentially causing these bones to malfunction in the way they create vibrations.
When your brain picks up abnormal vibrations from your ears, there is potential for it to invent a phantom sound like Tinnitus, as a compensatory effect.
3 By Affecting Inner Fluid Composition
Your inner ears have two types of fluids. One is called perilymph, an extracellular fluid that is contained within your inner ear. The composition of this fluid is 138 mM sodium and 6.9mM potassium. Then, there is also a fluid called endolymph that fills the membranous labyrinth that leads into the inner ear. The composition of this fluid is completely different at .91 mM sodium and 154mM potassium.
Dehydration can quickly cause sodium levels to rise and also potentially increase potassium levels. The net effect is a lot of changes to the quality of your inner ear fluids which can then affect not just your hearing, but also your balance. This is the reason why Ironman athletes or endurance athletes often feel dizzy. It’s their inner ear fluids going haywire after their body goes through dehydration. An endurance athlete can lose up to 7% of their body weight over intensely strenuous activity over an extended period of time.
4 By Affecting Ear Muscles
Your ear has small muscle groups called tensor tympani and stapedius. These muscles are responsible to contract and control the vibrations produced by your ear bones. They primarily prevent your ear bones from vibrating too much in response to loud noises, by counter-contracting and dampening vibrations. But, without water, muscle contraction in the body is compromised. Sometimes, this compromise is very significant. This is why muscle cramp, twitch and spasms you might have experienced elsewhere on your body are all common side effects of dehydration.
When your ear muscles are compromised, they can potentially leave your ears exposed to loud noise damage. As you might already know, loud noise is probably the #1 cause behind an onset or worsening of Tinnitus.
One a side note, I have personally felt a pulsatile like Tinnitus when I have been very dehydrated. This was separate from the regular ringing that I suffered from. The pulsatile like Tinnitus felt like a fluttering or like quick feeble changes in your ear canal’s pressure, for a few seconds at a time. My theory is that this was due to my ear muscles perhaps spasming. The good news however is that it cleared up as soon as I was hydrated. So, if you think your dehydration caused a pulsatile like Tinnitus, it might go away pretty soon. All you need to do is drink enough water and perhaps take some electrolytes as well.
Will Drinking Enough Water Get Rid of Tinnitus Caused by Dehydration?
Tinnitus caused by dehydration is very temporary in nature. So, if your Tinnitus was indeed caused by dehydration, it should go away when healthy hydration levels have been restored.
Also, Tinnitus has a number of other causes. Bad food, vitamin D or B12 deficiency, loud noises, sinusitis, thyroid problems, Covid vaccine, nasal polyps, antidepressant ototoxicity , steroid medication, ear wax, allergies or even a clenched jaw can all cause Tinnitus.
If dehydration is indeed the culprit, restoring adequate fluid levels in your body should make the Tinnitus go away. You must also take care to avoid chronic dehydration. Some signs of chronic dehydration include; always dark or darker than pale yellow urine, frequent headaches, muscle weakness, dry skin, constipation, fatigue and potentially compromised kidney, heart and digestive functions. Please also read this post we wrote about migraines and Tinnitus that occur together, as headaches are not always caused by just dehydration alone.
