Does menopause cause Tinnitus? If it does, will hormone replacement therapy (HRT) get rid of your Tinnitus? Are there studies investigating the link between menopause, HRT and Tinnitus? Let’s explore.
Does Menopause Cause Tinnitus?
There’s a strong anecdotal link between the onset of perimenopause, menopause or post-menopause life phases coinciding with an onset of Tinnitus. However, there have been absolutely no studies that have exactly pinned down why menopause can cause Tinnitus.
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The theory is that the drop in estrogen level somehow affects blood flow to the ears, then causing Tinnitus. Preliminary studies indicate that estrogen affects kidney function which in turn affects blood pressure. Hearing loss is then possible as well, when blood supply to the ears is strained.. Estrogen and other hormone levels change significantly during menopause. This also happens during pregnancy. This is why there are a number of women who get Tinnitus when pregnant as well.
Menopause brings about a lot of chaotic changes to the body. Irregular periods, hot flashes, night sweats, weight gain, mood swings, irregular sleep and Tinnitus are just some of the 34 symptoms of Menopause!
Search the web for menopause and Tinnitus and you will find a number of personal stories where women seem to connect their menopause with a case of the ringing of their ears.
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But, one should also note that Tinnitus is also an age related condition. As we age, we lose our hearing to various extents. When the brain receives less and less signals from the ears, it can begin to invent sounds that you hear as clicking, ringing or whooshing. Menopause affects most women in their 40’s, 50’s and 60’s, with the vast majority running into it in their 50’s. This is also around the average age a woman complains of Tinnitus.
A lot of women consider hormone replacement therapy or HRT to seek relief from menopause symptoms. HRT, when carefully administered, can relieve many of the annoying symptoms that come with menopause. But, can HRT also get rid of Tinnitus? That brings us to the next section of this post, whether studies have investigated HRT and Tinnitus.
Can Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) Cure Tinnitus?
Based on our research, the possibility of HRT helping your Tinnitus is ambiguous. There are studies that prove HRT can reduce or even prevent Tinnitus while there are also studies that show the exact contradictory result, that HRT can exacerbate Tinnitus.
Here’s a Taiwanese study that examined 14,000 HRT users and compared them against 42,000 non-HRT users. They found that the incidence rate of Tinnitus amongst HRT users was 0.43%. Amongst non-HRT users, Tinnitus incidence rate was higher at 0.58%.
A private ENT clinic conducted a much smaller study where they treated 13 women in menopause or post-menopause stages with HRT. The women had chronic Tinnitus for at least one year. The clinic treated these women with a low-dose HRT therapy where they administered 0.625 mg of conjugated oestrogen. The study concluded that all 13 patients experienced a significant improvement in the intensity of their Tinnitus, reporting Tinnitus intensity scores going down from 58.5 to 12.6. All 13 patients were also asked to score themselves on a visual analogue scale of 1 to 10 and this score reduced from 8.2 to 2.5.
Though the study seems to suggest that HRT can provide great relief from Tinnitus, it also suggested that women could have noticed an improvement in their Tinnitus because HRT helped them sleep better. In other words, better sleep might have allowed for a drastic reduction of stress and anxiety that might have then lowered the perceived reaction to Tinnitus. If you are struggling to sleep with a ringing in your ears, please read this post about sleeping with Tinnitus. Also of help to you might be this post we wrote about how melatonin can help your Tinnitus.
While the above two studies suggest that HRT might help you with your Tinnitus, this South Korean study showed that HRT can potentially increase the risk of Tinnitus. It concluded that Tinnitus risk increased in women, especially older women, when they received HRT therapy. It also concluded that the length of HRT therapy was also associated with Tinnitus risk. Longer treatment timelines proportionately increased risk.
Should You Take HRT for your Tinnitus and other Menopause Symptoms?
While HRT can offer benefits, it also comes with significant risks. Risks are especially higher if you are over 60. Potential risks include formation of blood clots, development of breast and endometrial disease, cancer, diabetes and osteoporosis. Dementia and a decline of muscle strength are also well known risks.
Also, as you read earlier here, there is no conclusive evidence that HRT can cure or even help with your Tinnitus. In fact, there is some evidence that it can in fact make your Tinnitus worse. So, unless HRT can provide you a number of benefits in addition to relief from Tinnitus, we would advise against it.
But, only a certified doctor can best advice you after taking your medical history and condition into account.
Natural Ways to Manage Tinnitus and other Menopause Symptoms
The diet you consume can play a major role in managing Tinnitus and other menopause related symptoms. Doctors and nutritionists alike recommend a Mediterranean diet. Such a diet will include whole grains, fish, fruits, vegetables and quality lean proteins and dairy.
If not for adhering to a good diet, you must at least try to avoid foods that can trigger Tinnitus. There are a number of foods that excite your neurons and also spike up your blood pressure, resulting in a significant worsening of your Tinnitus and also many of your other menopause related symptoms.
