High blood pressure, or hypertension, occurs when blood flows through your arteries at higher-than-normal levels of force, putting pressure on the walls of your blood vessels. Left untreated, hypertension is linked to heart attacks, stroke, vision loss and kidney damage. If you’ve recently been diagnosed with hypertension and begun treatment, you may want to consider the effect the condition might have on your hearing, particularly its connection with ringing in the ears, or tinnitus.
The Ears and Steady Blood Flow
Delicate sensory cells in the inner ear are sensitive to atypical blood flow. When deprived of steady blood flow, they can sustain damage and die. As these sensory cells are critical to our hearing systems, any damage they sustain will directly impact our hearing or cause tinnitus. It is possible that hypertension, like many other cardiovascular conditions, such as anemia and diseases or malformations of the arteries, may affect hearing in this way; however, further research is needed.
Ototoxicity
If a drug is termed “ototoxic,” that means it is known to cause damage to the inner ear, particularly those sensory cells mentioned above, as a potential side effect. This is the biggest link between hypertension and tinnitus, as many drugs used to treat hypertension are ototoxic; some are listed below.
It’s vital to understand ototoxicity. It should not cause you undue stress, and it certainly shouldn’t encourage you to avoid taking necessary medications. Often, the benefits of ototoxic medicines outweigh the risks, and many of the side effects, like tinnitus, typically go away when you stop taking the medication. Rest assured that your healthcare team will carefully consider the potential side effects of medications when creating a treatment plan for you.
Some Blood Pressure Medications Associated with Tinnitus
- Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, also called ACE inhibitors
- Diuretics
- Calcium channel blockers
- Some (but not all) beta blockers, including bisoprolol and metoprolol
Some Blood Pressure Medications Not Associated with Tinnitus
- Angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs)
- Some beta blockers, including carvedilol and labetalol
When to Seek Medical Help
If you’ve been taking blood pressure medication and have started experiencing tinnitus, talk to your medical provider about the side effect and the potential to switch to a non-ototoxic drug to continue treatment.
After that, if tinnitus continues or if you are unable to make a switch, it’s a good idea to seek out an audiologist. At Elevate Audiology, we offer tinnitus management tools and strategies to help mitigate the nuisance of tinnitus while you continue to manage hypertension. Call us today to learn more or to schedule an appointment.