Can CBD Help with Tinnitus? Exploring the Potential Benefits of Cannabidiol

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CBD and Tinnitus: Research Suggests Cannabidiol Helps

A recent study on cannabis and tinnitus has found that the active compound is frequently used by patients suffering from tinnitus, who report experiencing benefits in alleviating the symptoms of the condition.

CBD is a cannabinoid found in cannabis sativa, recognized and valued by scientific research for its ability to manage anxiety and stress, as well as depression, mood disorders, pain, and seizures. These conditions share similarities and direct associations with tinnitus, a challenging disorder to manage, whose symptoms are often linked to pain, anxiety, and sleep disturbances.

This information prompted researchers to interview 45 patients between the ages of 30 and 60. Among the interviewed patients who were already familiar with the active compound, 80% reported experiencing benefits in managing anxiety and pain, improving sleep quality, and enhancing their overall emotional well-being.

96% of the respondents stated they would be willing to use cannabis for tinnitus. Unlike other cannabinoids such as THC, CBD has the advantage of not having psychotropic effects. Therefore, it can be used safely without the risk of unpleasant side effects.

If you also suffer from tinnitus and are looking for a natural remedy, we recommend our 15% and 24% CBD oils. These are undoubtedly the most suitable options to support the body in the presence of tinnitus. The first is a CBD oil particularly rich in calming terpenes. We call it our natural anxiolytic because it has been specifically designed to reduce anxiety and stress. The second is an elixir against pain, appreciated by those suffering from various types of chronic pain, and is genuinely soothing and anti-inflammatory, despite not being a pharmaceutical drug.

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CBD and Tinnitus: What Science Says

As early as 2007, a team from the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the School of Medical Sciences, University of Otago (in New Zealand) had uncovered the first clues of a possible link between tinnitus and cannabinoid receptors.

The study, conducted on an animal model, demonstrated that rat neurons possess CB1 cannabinoid receptors. Researchers observed that in cases of tinnitus, the number of principal neurons in the ventral cochlear nucleus (located within the ear) expressing CB1 receptors significantly decreased, while the number of CB-positive principal neurons in the dorsal cochlear nucleus did not change significantly.

These findings suggested that CB1 receptors in the cochlear nucleus could be important for auditory function and that a decrease in CB1 receptors in the ventral cochlear nucleus might be related to the development of tinnitus.

The researchers went further, and years later - in 2015 - they published another study on tinnitus, based on the hypothesis that suggested considering tinnitus as a form of sensory epilepsy, resulting from neuronal hyperactivity in the auditory regions of the brain, such as the cochlear nucleus and the inferior colliculus. Moreover, although there is currently no effective pharmacological treatment for tinnitus, antiepileptic drugs are used in some cases as a potential treatment option.

There is growing evidence suggesting that cannabinoid drugs, that is, cannabinoid receptor agonists, may also have antiepileptic effects, at least in some cases and in certain parts of the brain.

It has been reported that CB1 cannabinoid receptors and the endogenous cannabinoid, 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), are expressed in the cochlear nucleus and are involved in regulating plasticity. The researchers thus presented a complex question: whether cannabinoid receptor agonists are likely to be pro- or antiepileptic in the cochlear nucleus and therefore whether cannabinoids and Cannabis itself could improve or worsen tinnitus.

Months later, during subsequent investigations into cannabinoids and tinnitus, the researchers obtained a contrasting result in another animal model. After administering cannabinoids to rats affected by tinnitus, they observed that cannabinoids actually encouraged the development of tinnitus, especially when pre-existing hearing damage was present.

According to research, CBD is taken by some tinnitus patients to alleviate the constant state of anxiety and stress resulting from this persistent and recurring discomfort.

The scientific perspective on the relationship between tinnitus and cannabis may open up new insights into the mechanism of interaction with cannabinoids.

What is tinnitus?

Tinnitus refers to a hearing disorder characterized by the perception of annoying, repetitive, or continuous noises such as whistling, pulsing, beating, or buzzing. The ear perceives these sounds so intensely that they significantly impact quality of life.

Causes of Tinnitus

The causes of tinnitus are numerous and can be attributed to a wide range of neurological damages (such as those caused by multiple sclerosis), infections, stress, presence of foreign bodies, earwax buildup, and exposure to excessively loud sounds. To give an idea of the vast number of conditions that could underlie tinnitus, it's worth noting that it has been observed in some people after discontinuing benzodiazepines (such as at the end of a specific treatment).

In the vast majority of cases, tinnitus is a phenomenon that's difficult to evaluate on an objective scale.

Usually, the severity is assessed clinically, through a description of how it interferes with daily life. Once one of the many underlying causes is identified, tinnitus can be treated with specific therapy. However, to date, there are still no 100% effective drugs that can completely resolve this condition.

Among the substances that have recently been tested for tinnitus treatment is, as we've seen, cannabidiol (CBD).