Some people are lucky enough not to have any allergies, while others experience a variety of allergic reactions, like seasonal hay fever, also known as allergic rhinitis. The most common symptoms are itchy eyes, a runny nose, and sneezing, but others can also experience pressure in their ears or a clogged feeling in their ears – it’s uncomfortable! Those that find their ears are affected by allergies can sometimes have more severe experiences, as bad as hearing loss, or the worsening of other conditions, like tinnitus. In this post, we’ll explore allergy-induced tinnitus and what you can do to try to make it feel better.
Risk Factors for Allergy-Induced Tinnitus
To better understand how allergies can impact your hearing, it’s best to start with an explanation of how allergies come up in the first place. When allergens enter your immune system, like pollen, for example, the immune system produces antibodies called histamine. This production is what leads to your allergic response, and why you experience an allergic reaction, like congestion, itchy eyes, irritated skin, or a tickly throat.
Those with a more severe allergic reaction also experience inflammation of their eustachian tube, which connects the back of the throat to the ears and nose. With the inflammation comes swelling and excess amounts of mucus, which leads to pressure and makes the ears feel blocked. The swelling impacts how sounds travel through the ears, making it harder for the sound waves to vibrate the middle ear bones, having a direct impact on how well one can hear. This type of “blockage” leads to conductive hearing loss, which is mild and usually gets better once the allergic reaction has improved.
Allergic rhinitis can sometimes evolve into a sinus infection, usually because of the congested mucus. Both sinus infections and typical nasal congestion can cause pressure in the ears that affects your hearing and can sometimes cause tinnitus. Allergic rhinitis can also increase the risk of middle ear infections, a symptom of which is tinnitus.
Another way allergies can lead to tinnitus is with eustachian tube dysfunction, which is the blockage of the eustachian tube. This tube can be blocked for a variety of reasons, like colds, changing altitudes, and of course, allergies. Clogged ears can be caused for a variety of reasons, like an excessive amount of earwax, and just like with a blockage of the eustachian tubes, the pressure due to clogged ears can also lead to tinnitus.
Other Allergy-Related Ear and Hearing Issues
Some people who notice their ears are affected by allergies can sometimes feel other symptoms as well, usually itchy ears, ear aches, or the feeling of being dizzy or off-balance. The good news is that most of the time, once the allergies have gotten better, those symptoms tend to go away too. But, pay attention to how you’re feeling! If your allergies have stopped and you’re still experiencing those symptoms, there may be something else causing it, and you want to discover what the underlying issue is so you can address it. Schedule an appointment with your physician to find out exactly what’s going on.
Treatment
If you are experiencing tinnitus due to your allergies, then the best course of action is to address the allergies directly. There are a few different ways you can go about doing so, the key is to find the solution that works best for you.
Medications that directly address your allergies are a good way to start. Some over-the-counter (OTC) decongestants or nasal corticosteroids may be all you need to relieve congestion and inflammation in your sinuses. If those don’t do the trick, your doctor should be able to prescribe you an antihistamine, which will dry out your sinuses and improve the function of your ear passageways. These antihistamines include:
- Chlorpheniramine
- Meclizine
- Terfenadine
This may sound obvious, but it bears mentioning. If you know what the source of your allergy is, if possible, try avoiding it as much as possible. The less you expose yourself to what is causing you allergies, the better your chances of avoiding a reaction strong enough to lead to tinnitus. If you’re not sure what is causing the allergy, that’s an excellent opportunity to meet with an expert in the field, an allergist, who will perform a test to uncover exactly what is bothering you so you can avoid it moving forward.
Remember, though allergy-induced tinnitus is annoying, most allergies are seasonal, so it will eventually go away. But if you’re looking for ways to make the going a little easier, there are some simple remedies you can try yourself!
- Wash your ears with a warm, damp cloth, being sure not to insert anything into your ear canal.
- Try yawning to help your ears pop to alleviate pressure.
- Inhale steam or menthol, it’ll help open the eustachian tube to remove any blockages.
If you’re still feeling pain, discomfort, or tinnitus, make an appointment with your physician or an audiologist to make sure nothing more serious is happening, like an ear infection.
Bottomline – Tinnitus Allergies
The good news is that allergy-induced tinnitus is usually temporary, the bad news is it may sometimes last longer than you’d like, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t help out there! If your tinnitus persists, don’t ignore it, go see a Doctor of Audiology! An audiologist will be able to run tests to see what is actually going on and will guide you in the best way to find you relief quickly.
