Stress of COVID-19 pandemic worsening symptoms of tinnitus sufferers

It’s that ringing, hissing, humming or buzzing in the ear or ears without an external sound that just won’t go away. Often times, there’s just no explanation for it. 

It can affect one’s sleep and concentration and be profoundly life-interfering. 

For an estimated 37 per cent of Canadians (9.2 million), tinnitus is their reality — and it’s only getting worse during COVID-19.

At least, that’s what audiologist and director of Audiology at Hearing Solutions, Andreas Seelisch is finding among his patients. 

Seelisch says he’s noticing a trend among his patients, that their tinnitus is getting worse with the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic — and the more the pandemic continues, the louder or more frequent those symptom of tinnitus are getting. 

“Not everybody who has tinnitus has problematic tinnitus,” Seelisch explained. “Only a fraction — like one in 10 of those people actually have tinnitus that is bothering them. But tinnitus isn’t a disease itself, it’s really a symptom of something else.”

And that something else can be anything from an underlying health issue, hearing loss to medications — only a patient and their doctor can determine the cause of the mysterious sound. 

But according to Harvard Health, stress can be contributing factor to worsening symptoms of tinnitus, as well as your diet, physical activity and sleep. 

And persistent tinnitus can fuel our stress responses when the limbic system section of the brain tells it that the tinnitus could be harmful or threatening.

This can result in a negative cycle that fuels itself.

Not to mention that the emotional response to either the tinnitus or COVID-19 can result in over-stimulation of the limbic system, creating another variety of health effects like loss of control over mood or emotions.

“There’s lots of stress and anxiety associated with the pandemic in general,” Seelisch said. “These stresses are affecting people and making people a little more scared than usual. Unfortunately, tinnitus is heavily associated with stress as well — we know that when people are more stressed their tinnitus can rise, so they are getting their symptoms stronger than they otherwise would.”

But don’t think this is something that only affects older adults. In fact, Statistics Canada found that younger adults ages 19 to 29 were “significantly more likely” to have had tinnitus (46 per cent) than those aged 30 to 49 (33 per cent) and 50 to 79 (35 per cent). 

This, Stats Can says, could be because younger adults were more likely to use audio devices with headphones or earbuds (80 per cent versus 53 per cent and 28 per cent, respectively) and average use at loud volume for more hours each week, which are both risk factors. 

To help manage rising symptoms of tinnitus, Seelisch offers this advice: 

• Engage in self care: Whether it’s exercise or doing something else that gets you to relax, take a moment to look after yourself — it can help break the cycle. 
• Enrich your acoustic environment: While it might seem counter intuitive, Seelisch says our brains tend to focus more on tinnitus when it’s quiet. By adding other sounds to the environment, you can shift your brain’s attention away from the tinnitus. It can be as simple as turning on a fan or listening to the radio. 
• Promote good sleep: Get to bed early. Avoid caffeine, alcohol or screens that could disrupt sleep. For those who find tinnitus problematic in falling asleep, using sound to manage tinnitus can be helpful. Consider relaxing music, nature sounds a fan or fountain.
• Consider a hearing consult: Tinnitis is commonly linked with an underlying hearing loss. It’s not such a bad idea to see a hearing specialist or your family doctor about it.