Can ear plugs cause Tinnitus? Do you sleep with ear plugs? Or, does your work require you to wear ear plugs for extended hours? Are you worried about developing a ringing in the ears? Let’s find out how ear plugs and Tinnitus are related.
6 Possible Ways in which Ear Plugs Can Cause Tinnitus
1 Ear wax impaction
Ear wax or cerumen is naturally produced and is in fact needed for the ears. Ear wax catches dust, dead skin cells* and other dirt and debris and prevents it from lodging itself against the eardrum, then potentially damaging it. When your ears are working well, ear wax is constantly drained with a little help from your jaw muscles. All that chewing and talking you do slowly massages the ear wax out of the ear.
What is Your Tinnitus Handicap Score?
Calculate your THI Score in about 2-3 Minutes
*This is why people with eczema often tend to have a lot of ear wax, because their skin flakes off very easily. People with eczema should therefore be very careful about ear wax impaction as a result of ear plug use.
But, if you begin to wear ear plugs for extended periods of time, this natural drainage process can be disrupted. Also, the very act of pushing an ear plug down your ear canal can lead to already impacted ear wax being pushed further back into your ear canal. Over time, this ear wax that can’t drain can harden further. It will then become impacted ear wax. Impacted ear wax can then potentially cause hearing loss. And, hearing loss can cause Tinnitus. 80% of people with Tinnitus also have hearing loss. The phantom ringing noise is actually invented by your brain when you don’t hear well. Your brain tries to compensate for the lack of auditory signals resulting from your compromised hearing. Here’s an audiologist’s explanation of how impacted ear wax can cause Tinnitus.
Thankfully, Tinnitus caused by ear wax impaction is mostly reversible. Please read this post about how Tinnitus caused by ear wax can be managed. Don’t reach for the Q-Tip though! Impacted ear wax is best removed by an ENT doctor or maybe with a hydrogen peroxide solution that is carefully administered at home.
How Severe is Your Tinnitus?
Find out by using this THI (Tinnitus Handicap Inventory) Scoring Calculator
Worried that your ear wax may be impacted? Here are signs to look out for;
- Full or partial Hearing loss (Sometimes, you can hear many frequencies but not all)
- Ear pain
- Feeling of fullness in the ears
- Ear itches
- Dizziness or vertigo
- Cough (rare symptom)
One must also know that the consistency or viscosity of ear wax changes with time. As people get older, ear wax tends to be more viscous and harder to naturally drain. Older people should therefore be very careful about using ear plugs consistently. Also, people from East Asian countries like China, Tibet, South and North Korea and Japan have a tendency to produce more ear wax than rest of the world demographics. This then puts them at high risk of developing impacted ear wax caused by ear plug use.
2 Ear Infections
Ear plugs can get dirty. And, if you are not careful, you could be using them to feed your ear canal with a lot of bacteria. When this bacteria begins to invade your middle or inner ear, infections can start. An infection will compromise your hearing and Tinnitus can result as a symptom. Other symptoms can also include hearing loss, vertigo, dizziness and ear pain.
How to keep ear plugs clean?
- Store your ear plugs in a dedicated, ventilated (moist environments are ripe for bacterial infections) and clean case
- Wash and dry your hands thoroughly, before handling your ear plugs
- Silicone, wax and even foam ear plugs can be gently washed with warm water and a very mild soap solution. But, it is imperative that you dry them completely before use
- Replace ear plugs when they begin to discolor, break or lose their shape (Foam ear are soft and porous and a great environment for bacteria. They must be replaced most often, if not after every use)
3 Excessive Usage
Everyone loves peace and quiet. But, wearing ear plugs for most of the day and even during sleeping can mean that you severely limit auditory signals from reaching your brain. Over time, this can cause your brain to be confused about the limited signals coming from your ears. Tinnitus can then be invented as a phantom noise.
You must also understand that protecting your ears against sounds that aren’t really loud will make them extra sensitive to loud noises. Ear plug use is actually only recommended when you are exposed to noise levels in excess of 85 dB, and that too only when it is for 30 minutes or more. The last thing you want to do is ‘baby’ your ears only for it to be suddenly exposed to a very loud noise that can easily damage your untrained ear drums. As you might already know, exposure to loud noise is the #1 reason for Tinnitus.
4 Foam and other ear plug material allergy
Though rare, silicone, foam or wax allergies do exist. If you are one of these people with allergies, ear plugs will naturally cause problems when they come in contact with your skin. Tinnitus can be one of the resulting allergic symptoms.
5 Simulated Tinnitus
Ear plugs effectively block out environmental sounds. The lack of external sounds can sometimes amplify Tinnitus that you might have already had, but didn’t notice before. This study at the University of Manchester explores how ear plugs among other things can cause a condition called hidden hearing loss, which can then result in Tinnitus. This is however a very rare phenomenon.
6 Improper Use
Most people don’t read the instructions that comes with ear plugs. Instead, they take the ear plugs and use force to shove them down the ear. This however raises the risk of injury caused by the penetrating ear plug.
How to properly insert a ear plug?
- Always wash and dry your hands before touching your ear plugs
- If using foam ear plugs, roll the foam ear plug into a thin cylindrical shape using a rolling motion with your thumb, index and middle fingers
- Gently lift your ears by holding the top of your ears, to then lift your ear up and away from your head
- Gently insert the ear plug into the ear canal
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- Go just deep enough for ear plugs to both block sounds and also stay in place
- Do not push or force ear plugs in
- Do not lubricate ear plugs with oils, gels or your saliva!
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- For foam ear plugs, apply light pressure on the inserted ear plugs for about 30 seconds, to allow foam to expand and fill up your ear canal
- Release your ear that you pulled up
Sleeping with Ear Plugs – What’s Your Tinnitus Risk?
Most people who read this article probably sleep with ear plugs. Whether its because you are a light sleeper, have a snoring partner or because you live in a noisy street corner, ear plugs can be a godsend for a good night’s sleep. But, it also means that you are going to be wearing ear plugs for about 8 hours a night, every night.
Please take extra care to follow all the above mentioned precautions about keeping your ear plugs clean. Also, use your ear plugs correctly, using instructions provided above.
If you experience symptoms like hearing loss, ear fullness, ear aches, dizziness or itches in the ear, please visit an ENT doctor or audiologist immediately. You might also want to look into getting a pair of custom made ear plugs. Custom made ear plugs are expensive but they can be made to perfectly fit in your ears. The result is a comfortable fit that minimally penetrates your ear canal, while still giving you the sound protection you need.
To be completely safe, you can also make precautionary visits to the ENT, to catch ear wax impaction and other ear wax problems early, before they develop into complications like Tinnitus.
