{"id":3801,"date":"2022-03-18T14:27:56","date_gmt":"2022-03-18T18:27:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advancedent.com\/?p=3801"},"modified":"2022-03-18T14:27:59","modified_gmt":"2022-03-18T18:27:59","slug":"can-otc-pain-relievers-cause-tinnitus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advancedent.com\/can-otc-pain-relievers-cause-tinnitus\/","title":{"rendered":"Can OTC Pain Relievers Cause Tinnitus?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/advancedent.com\/audiologist\/understanding-tinnitus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Tinnitus<\/a> is a phantom ringing, roaring, whistling, hissing, humming or buzzing sound in the ears. While there\u2019s no external sound source that causes these sounds, you may feel as if you\u2019re standing under bells at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newarkbasilica.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Cathedral Basilica<\/a>. Triggers for tinnitus include stress, sleep deprivation, loud noises, dehydration and a high sodium diet. A recent study shows that over-the-counter (OTC) pain medications may be another cause of tinnitus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">About the Study<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/advancedent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/pills-otoxic.jpg\" alt=\"A pile of pain relief and allergy pills.\" class=\"wp-image-3803\" width=\"286\" height=\"190\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/35132561\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">research<\/a> that reveals the connection between OTC pain relievers and tinnitus is a data analysis from the Nurses\u2019 Health Study II. The purpose of this longitudinal study was to examine the overlap between women who take OTC pain relievers and those who have a history of tinnitus symptoms. They found that women who report frequent use of certain OTC pain relievers were more likely to report tinnitus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>More specifically, compared to those who didn\u2019t take OTC pain relievers regularly:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Frequent users (6-7 times a week) of a moderate dose of aspirin had a 16% higher risk of tinnitus. This was only the case for women under 60; the same risk was not seen in women over 60. Frequent users of a low dose of aspirin did not have an elevated risk either.<\/li><li>Frequent users of NSAIDs or acetaminophen had a 20% higher risk of tinnitus. The more frequently they used these drugs, the higher their risk.<\/li><li>Regular users (2+ days per week) of prescription COX-2 inhibitors like Celebrex had a 20% higher risk of tinnitus as well.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Practicing Caution with OTC Pain Relievers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>OTC analgesics certainly have benefits in the short-term, but this study shows there can be long-term consequences, especially with frequent use of a moderate dose. It\u2019s important to be mindful about your usage of these drugs and limit their use when possible. If you\u2019re experiencing tinnitus, discuss changing your medication with your doctor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to Manage Tinnitus<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It may be the case that your tinnitus resolves if and when you stop taking OTC pain relievers. However, if this is not possible or practical for you, or if stopping doesn\u2019t help, you may need to try other options. You can manage your tinnitus using the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Hearing aids. <\/strong>If you have any degree of hearing loss along with your tinnitus, your audiologist will most likely recommend wearing hearing aids. These treat tinnitus by turning up the volume on sounds in your environment, so you\u2019re more focused on them than the ringing in your ears. Some hearing aids even have built-in tinnitus maskers.<\/li><li><strong>Tinnitus maskers.<\/strong> Tinnitus maskers are hearing aid-like devices, except their only job is to provide masking noises, not amplify sounds.<\/li><li><strong>White noise machines.<\/strong> You can run a white noise machine in your house or office to mask the sounds of your tinnitus. Some machines play ocean or rainfall sounds. You can also turn on a fan or humidifier for the same effect.<\/li><li><strong>Counseling. <\/strong>Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT) can both be effective in teaching you how to cope with your tinnitus.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>To learn more or <a href=\"https:\/\/advancedent.com\/about-us\/locations\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">to schedule an appointment<\/a>, call <span class=\"company-name \">Advanced ENT & Allergy<\/span> today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"related-posts\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/advancedent.com\/can-vibration-help-tinnitus\/\" class=\"related-post\">Can Vibration Help Tinnitus?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/advancedent.com\/what-does-a-lump-behind-my-ear-mean\/\" class=\"related-post\">What Does A Lump Behind My Ear Mean?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/advancedent.com\/what-can-you-do-if-tinnitus-is-keeping-you-up-at-night\/\" class=\"related-post\">What Can You Do if Tinnitus Is Keeping You Up at Night?<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tinnitus is a phantom ringing, roaring, whistling, hissing, humming or buzzing sound in the ears. While there\u2019s no external sound source that causes these sounds, you may feel as if you\u2019re standing under bells at the Cathedral Basilica. Triggers for tinnitus include stress, sleep deprivation, loud noises, dehydration and a high sodium diet. A recent&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3803,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"Tinnitus is a phantom ringing, roaring, whistling, hissing, humming or buzzing sound in the ears.","_seopress_robots_index":"","fname":"","lname":"","position":"","credentials":"","placeID":"","no_match":false,"name":"","company":"","review":"","address":"","city":"","state":"","zip":"","lat":"","lng":"","phones_titles":"","phones":"","fax":"","mon1":"","mon2":"","tue1":"","tue2":"","wed1":"","wed2":"","thu1":"","thu2":"","fri1":"","fri2":"","sat1":"","sat2":"","sun1":"","sun2":"","hours-note":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3801"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3801"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/advancedent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3801\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3805,"href":"https:\/\/advancedent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3801\/revisions\/3805"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}