Can allergies cause tinnitus? Can a sinus infection result in hearing loss? What is the treatment for allergy induced Tinnitus? Do allergies cause a Tinnitus spike among people who are already suffering from Tinnitus? We explore the connection between allergies and tinnitus and also hearing loss, below.
How can allergies cause Tinnitus?
Come spring time, allergens in the air can cause a condition called allergic rhinitis. You might know this condition as hay fever. When attacked by allergens, your body releases histamine to fight the foreign allergens. When the histamines do their work, mucus production goes into overdrive.
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As mucus-filled fluid builds up in your sinus cavities, you begin to experience all the common symptoms of an allergy. These include sneezing, a runny nose, itchy eyes and sometimes also fullness in the ear or a case of congested ear ringing.
How your ears are affected by Allergies?
Ringing in your ears is usually caused by allergies when the sinus cavity fluids begins to congest the Eustachian tube. This is a drainage passage that leads to the middle ear. Too much fluid here and the middle ear begins to malfunction.
Depending on how severe the congestion is, you might just experience just a feeling of fullness or pressure, ringing in the ears or in some instances, also hearing loss.
How Severe is Your Tinnitus?
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Can allergies or a sinus infection cause hearing loss?
As just explained, congestion in the Eustachian tube can not just cause Tinnitus or ringing in the ears but also hearing loss. Thankfully however, hearing loss caused by allergies is usually temporary. In other words, both the ringing and loss of hearing will subside or go away after the allergy has run its course in your body. This kind of hearing loss is generally called conductive hearing loss.
Can allergies cause a Tinnitus spike?
Unfortunately, yes. Allergies can cause a Tinnitus flareup. But, just like how Tinnitus can fade away for people after their allergy episode, a Tinnitus spike will fade away back into the baseline noise that you were suffering from before the spike. You can take relief in the fact that your Tinnitus at least doesn’t get worse after an allergy attack, even if you experience a flare up for a few days.
Treatment for Tinnitus and hearing loss caused by allergies
Antihistamines
Most people experience a tremendous amount of relief by taking an OTC antihistamine like Benadryl. Benadryl stops the histamine production and the fluid discharge stops and recedes, relieving pressure from your ears. You can learn more about the connection between antihistamines like Benadryl and Tinnitus here.
Allergy Shots
If you get an allergy once, you will probably get it again. Talk to your doctor about getting yearly allergy shots that can prevent recurring episodes of allergies and the accompanying Tinnitus or hearing loss.
Doctor’s Visit
When to see your doctor about your allergies and Tinnitus/hearing loss?
When…
- You have ear pain
- Your Tinnitus or hearing loss persists even after your allergy has run its course
- Ringing in the ears or hearing loss is getting worse
Don’t panic when you experience Tinnitus or hearing loss with your allergies!
Ringing in the ears and hearing loss can be a traumatic condition to endure. If you are here reading this article because you have never experienced both of these symptoms before, please do not panic. Panic can increase stress levels and stress and anxiety can make your Tinnitus worse, possibly even prolonging it.
The vast majority of Tinnitus and conductive hearing loss that comes along with an allergy goes away when the allergy subsides.
If symptoms persist after your allergies have faded, please visit an ENT to seek advice on what to do next.
