Marijuana / Cannabis and Tinnitus

[shelbynn]

I think I might try an edible and microdose next weekend with a friend. I just don't want to let tinnitus stop me from these things that I love.

Is there ANYONE who has a positive or neutral experience using marijuana with tinnitus??

 

[Gemini Crickets]

Nah fam, weed makes mine louder. Sad because I love weed. But whatever at least it's not addictive.

 

[ThomEllis]

In my experience of smoking and ingesting cannabis, I wouldn't call any of my highs as positive for my tinnitus. But before, I was OK with my T and so never focused on it when high.
However, since my T got worse last November, when I'm very high I 'trip' on my T. I only ingest weed these days as I find the highs more pleasant. The ringing starts to warble and increase in pitch from low to high, and then it repeats like this. I don't get freaked out because I'm more experienced now, and cannabis has never caused a permanent spike.
Just to add, we use a very, very potent cannabis oil from a trusted family friend. So it's not a case of dodgy cannabis. Bottom line, I can live without it. Maybe worth a try people, and be confident that even if you get extremely high, it'll pass.

 

[Daniel Lion]

I think I might try an edible and microdose next weekend with a friend. I just don't want to let tinnitus stop me from these things that I love.

Is there ANYONE who has a positive or neutral experience using marijuana with tinnitus??

Yeah, I have positive experiences with cannabis. My tinnitus is constant and difficult.

When I use the herb, at this point I ingest it, I macro dose. I take enough to leave my body and ride the waves.

Sounds like you miss the herb and really enjoyed it. Smoke kicks off our reptilian mind so people get scared.

You will find your balance. Bad tinnitus leaves most of us with PTSD, so we are easily scared for good reason - our worlds get turned upside down and we are super fragile to further damage.

I've just cleaned myself out and have been on the sober train. Tomorrow I will cook up a batch of infused coconut oil and will lunch into the cosmos in a day or 2. I usually give my family a heads up because it is strong and it shows.

Good luck Shelbynn... You got this.

I hope you can regain the things you love and discover new ones to love as well.

Peace.

 

[shelbynn]

Yeah, I have positive experiences with cannabis. My tinnitus is constant and difficult.

When I use the herb, at this point I ingest it, I macro dose. I take enough to leave my body and ride the waves.

Sounds like you miss the herb and really enjoyed it. Smoke kicks off our reptilian mind so people get scared.

You will find your balance. Bad tinnitus leaves most of us with PTSD, so we are easily scared for good reason - our worlds get turned upside down and we are super fragile to further damage.

I've just cleaned myself out and have been on the sober train. Tomorrow I will cook up a batch of infused coconut oil and will lunch into the cosmos in a day or 2. I usually give my family a heads up because it is strong and it shows.

Good luck Shelbynn... You got this.

I hope you can regain the things you love and discover new ones to love as well.

Peace.

This was so wonderful and positive. Thank you so much! I think I'm going to try and get high with my friend this weekend and see how it goes. I want to reclaim things that I love. And yes, weed is one of those things lol.

 

[Swann36]

Not really, compared to a lot of other shit in the environment like huffing down diesel fumes on my motorcycle.

Cannabis smoking and lung cancer risk: Pooled analysis in the International Lung Cancer Consortium:

Cannabis Smoking and Risk of Lung Cancer in Men: A Pooled Analysis of Three Studies in Maghreb:

Effects of smoking cannabis on lung function:

More or less some studies find a minor association with long term heavy use, but it's not nearly as dramatic as tobacco, and so far we don't have long term data on vaping flower / oil but there's reason to think it's not nearly as detrimental since the main thing that makes pot smoke carcinogenic is post-combustion carbon products (unlike commercial tobacco which is chock full of heavy metals and carcinogenic flame retardants and god knows what else).

* goes back to 3am oil rips of Trainwreck to fall back asleep

Are these studies based on "pure" cannabis smoking?

Most folks I've met or known in the UK that smoke MJ do so mixing it with tobacco, perhaps up to 2/3rds to 1/3rd MJ as MJ is too costly to not mix. Hence the lung / throat cancer risk from the tobacco.

 

[Jebbis]

I've been smoking weed since long before my tinnitus came along. In the beginning I switched to mostly CBD stuff because the THC was just heightening my perception. THC is legal in my state.

Nowadays, cannabis is the reason I can get to sleep without a masker. So that is something for me. A few hits half an hour before bed and my brain really starts switching off. Never had to experiment with pain pills or sleeping pills.

Edibles are great, different high and very bodily focused. This helps me get out of my head.

I will say though, if I take a big hit and cough, my tinnitus spikes for about 10 minutes until my blood pressure goes back to normal.

 

[egs]

I use cannabis at least 3 or 4 times a week. Smoking seems to increase the volume of my tinnitus, likely due to allergies/sinus issues; recently switched to edibles, which have no effect as far as I can tell.

 

[Matchbox]

I use cannabis at least 3 or 4 times a week. Smoking seems to increase the volume of my tinnitus, likely due to allergies/sinus issues; recently switched to edibles, which have no effect as far as I can tell.

That is, really weird. Still getting high off eddies?

 

[shelbynn]

I got stoned yesterday for the first time in 6 months and it was amazing. Nothing bad happened! My tinnitus didn't get louder, in fact it got SUPER quiet for like the next 2 hours. I had a great time with my friend at the park and we got ice cream and looked up at the clouds. This is the happiest I've been in 6 months.

 

[egs]

That is, really weird. Still getting high off eddies?

I use THC/CBD capsules, which are legal in my country (Canada).

 

[Tweedleman]

When I use the herb, at this point I ingest it, I macro dose. I take enough to leave my body and ride the waves.

Yeah buddy! Lol

 

[Mark82]

Tonight I took a hit off a weed cartridge and my tinnitus became louder for about 15 minutes and then became quieter than it had been for the entire day.

My thoughts around this are that either it greatly reduced stress and therefore the volume of the tinnitus, or that my tinnitus is to do with something being inflamed and the cannabis is acting as an anti-inflammatory.

The initial volume spike may have been blood pressure or a dopamine surge? I'm not sure.

 

[KristianTsokanov]

I just started vaping cannabis. It definitely spikes my tinnitus, but usually goes away after a few hours. I can deal with that for sure.

 

[LR Roberts]

Weed makes my tinnitus worse initially, but then goes back to normal after 15 to 20 minutes. It also makes me paranoid. May end up quitting.

 

[KristianTsokanov]

Weed makes my tinnitus worse initially, but then goes back to normal after 15 to 20 minutes. It also makes me paranoid. May end up quitting.

Sometimes it's just a matter of finding the right strain. I do get paranoid too, but I try to vape right before bed so it just knocks me out.

 

[object16]

Hi, yes, it helps me.

The strain is not that important. I make a brownie myself. I use margarine and chocolate chips and plenty of shredded cannabis. I don't filter it. A 0.6gm brownie which is 0.25 gm Cannabis, under the tongue with 0.2ml of vodka makes it turn into a tincture oil in your mouth. I hold it there as long as possible, eventually your mouth is too full of saliva and you have to swallow it. I've been experimenting with cannabis forever, this is the actual one that works.

THC will spike tinnitus for me, just like everyone else, that is why I keep the dose very low and make sure there is at least some CBD in there to balance counteract the THC spike effect.

I also prepare my own isoflavones, that is done with either black chick pea sprout, chala chana, or soybean sprouts. They got to the 5/6 day stage.

My next experiment is to ferment the sprouts to convert isoflavone to aglycone.

I am the proof. If you go through my post through the years you can observe I've gone through suicidal, thinking it's all over, my career is done, I'm done, etc all these negative things. Isoflavones are important for sleep, that is the research.

I also take a double dose of Omega 3 & 15 ml of hemp oil. his is important for neural plasticity (plus it is great for preventing a severe COVID-19 infection, Omega 3 is anti-inflammatory, it actually helps my joints too).

I've done analysis therapy for past three years to clear up childhood trauma issues.

All in all I'm doing great now.

So don't give up. If you follow what I'm doing here, it will help.

I also listen to restful rain, on quiet, 24/7. A lot of times through noise cancelling Bose headset. Is is said this is bad. It's not. Just keep it as quiet as you can still hear it.

Those are my tips. So yes, Cannabis works, but use it as a complete treatment. It is like Jesus Christ does, holistic: we believe in treating the whole patient, in the same way that Jesus Christ did. And for the record, no, I don't read the Bible, I don't go to church, sometimes I pray with a friend of mine, but I don't believe in any literal imaginary guy in the sky. I use the Dr. Jack Kornfield method, he is a famous clinical psychologist and he has a great CD on healing meditation. For a severe case like myself, you have to do everything. My life has gone from suicidal, to I've tackled my issues, and I'm together, thank you.

I'm certain childhood trauma is the reason for my tinnitus now, trauma leads to addiction, and addiction leads to your life not going down the way it was intended. I'm very certain if I had a proper childhood and upbringing I would not be typing this, but I also would not be the strong caring person I am today either. So with the bad comes the good, if you turn it into that. That is your choice. If you don't have trauma issues, Dr. Kornfield is still good. To quote the doctor "we all need healing".

 

[juliob]

I used to really enjoy getting high with strong THC weed. It's been years that I don't smoke due to benzo withdrawal and I wonder if it's possible to enjoy sativa trips once you have tinnitus.

I am a bit scared to try again tbh...

 

[hartstreet]

Weed remains a lifesaver for me. It definitely does not improve my tinnitus, and if anything it makes it louder with the heightened sensations that generally come with it, but it helps me mellow out and feel less overwhelmed by the tinnitus. And if I do something distracting along with it, I can forget the tinnitus for a while and be in bliss.

Good luck, be safe.

 

[Gemini Crickets]

I posted previously in this thread that my tinnitus spikes when I use weed. That was a while back.

Now I tried weed again and I'm totally fine, no spike, nothing.

I think the spike comes from your state of mind, and if you're not worried or anxious it probably doesn't affect anything. Weird, right?

 

[Lane]

I think the spike comes from your state of mind, and if you're not worried or anxious it probably doesn't affect anything. Weird, right?

Hi @Gemini Crickets -- My own take is that tinnitus appears to be quite reactive in the initial months following tinnitus onset, and gradually becomes less reactive over time. I don't know if that indicates a certain amount of healing, but that seems plausible to me. State of mind is always important, but it seems there are likely other factors involved as well.

 

[IntotheBlue03]

Hi @Gemini Crickets -- My own take is that tinnitus appears to be quite reactive in the initial months following tinnitus onset, and gradually becomes less reactive over time. I don't know if that indicates a certain amount of healing, but that seems plausible to me. State of mind is always important, but it seems there are likely other factors involved as well.

Hope you are right about this. The constant reactivity is killing me. If I only had the ability to mask or distract myself with other things I'd be able to deal with this. The reactivity competes with every single sound including my own voice. 2 months in and no change.

 

[Lane]

The reactivity competes with every single sound

Hi @IntotheBlue03 -- That's the way it was for me the first few months after my tinnitus onset. It then started very gradually improving after that, and now four years on, I very seldom notice a reactive tinnitus reaction.

 

[IntotheBlue03]

Hi @IntotheBlue03 -- That's the way it was for me the first few months after my tinnitus onset. It then started very gradually improving after that, and now four years on, I very seldom notice a reactive tinnitus reaction.

Hi @Lane,

So happy to hear that. I just received my Alpha-Stim today! I'll report back hopefully with good results and it bringing me back down to earth and out of distress. I'm sure you barely notice the tinnitus now but can you recall as to when you could first, for example, listen to music or watch TV without significant reactivity? I'm in near silence most of the time and then leaving home is torturous for the same reason.

 

[Guywithapug]

@IntotheBlue03, I have reactive tinnitus in my left ear which started when I lost hearing in that ear. It reacts with certain frequencies, the ones that I'm deficient in. I'm about a year and a half in with no change but have gotten used to it.

There are theories that reactive tinnitus doesn't even exist, and that it is a subset of hyperacusis. The other is that it's loudness recruitment in frequencies your deficient in.

Personally, I believe it's the auditory cortex turning up the "gain" to hear frequencies that there is an issue with, specifically for those with hearing loss. For those without measurable hearing loss, it could be that part of the brain turning it up for other middle an inner ear pathologies or auditory cortex malfunction. Just my 2 cents.

 

[IntotheBlue03]

@IntotheBlue03, I have reactive tinnitus in my left ear which started when I lost hearing in that ear. It reacts with certain frequencies, the ones that I'm deficient in. I'm about a year and a half in with no change but have gotten used to it.

There are theories that reactive tinnitus doesn't even exist, and that it is a subset of hyperacusis. The other is that it's loudness recruitment in frequencies your deficient in.

Personally, I believe it's the auditory cortex turning up the "gain" to hear frequencies that there is an issue with, specifically for those with hearing loss. For those without measurable hearing loss, it could be that part of the brain turning it up for other middle an inner ear pathologies or auditory cortex malfunction. Just my 2 cents.

Thanks @Guywithapug. I have hyperacusis (sound sensitivity only) mixed in with the reactive tinnitus so I'm hoping there's still time to improve at 2 months in. I have no hearing loss except past 16 kHz but my tinnitus is reactive to every single sound, making it impossible to mask and driving me crazy especially since it's in my head and not my ears.

I'm sorry to hear yours hasn't improved but I'm happy to hear that you are habituated. I am hoping for the same in my case.

 

[Lane]

I'm sure you barely notice the tinnitus now but can you recall as to when you could first, for example, listen to music or watch TV without significant reactivity?

Just to clarify, my "reactive" tinnitus is barely noticeable these days, but my "non-reactive" tinnitus is still with me, four years after my onset on Feb. 4, 2018. That said, my non-reactive tinnitus is better, though it took a long time for that to happen.

I recall that I thought I might be doing better as I approached my 2-year anniversary, and even thought I might write a bit about it in the "success stories" section. But it then got worse again, and my tinnitus was barely better at 2 years than it was when it first started. It has gotten better in the past few months however, especially the past several weeks, when I started eating poppy seeds before going to bed.

That single thing took it down from an average intensity of 7-8, to around 6-7. May not seem like much, but it did allow me to awaken in the middle of the night, notice the tinnitus, and treat it with a degree of indifference. And I hold out hope it will get better going forward.

Thankfully, sleep is not an issue for me these days, while in the beginning I could barely sleep at all. Things have definitely gotten better for me, but these things can take a long time. Others on this forum that improve usually do so much earlier than I did.

 

[IntotheBlue03]

Just to clarify, my "reactive" tinnitus is barely noticeable these days, but my "non-reactive" tinnitus is still with me, four years after my onset on Feb. 4, 2018. That said, my non-reactive tinnitus is better, though it took a long time for that to happen.

I recall that I thought I might be doing better as I approached my 2-year anniversary, and even thought I might write a bit about it in the "success stories" section. But it then got worse again, and my tinnitus was barely better at 2 years than it was when it first started. It has gotten better in the past few months however, especially the past several weeks, when I started eating poppy seeds before going to bed.

That single thing took it down from an average intensity of 7-8, to around 6-7. May not seem like much, but it did allow me to awaken in the middle of the night, notice the tinnitus, and treat it with a degree of indifference. And I hold out hope it will get better going forward.

Thankfully, sleep is not an issue for me these days, while in the beginning I could barely sleep at all. Things have definitely gotten better for me, but these things can take a long time. Others on this forum that improve usually do so much earlier than I did.

Thanks for clarifying and I'm happy that the poppy seeds are helping. That's interesting that the reactivity improved but habituation for the regular tinnitus in general was more challenging? I know it's early for me but I've been forced to listen to my tinnitus and only my tinnitus since onset so I'm hoping that means something in the way of neuroplasticity/habituation. I guess I will have to see what month to month brings.

Attempted my first Alpha-Stim M session today as I am always halfway panicked throughout the day, and it did seem to take some edge off during treatment. I can't recall the last time I was able to sit or lie down comfortably.

Curious if you recall what your treatment protocol was? I plan on doing 3 sessions daily @ 40 minutes and 200-250AU frequency.

 

[Lane]

Curious if you recall what your treatment protocol was?

Best I can recall is that I used "as needed". I think a typical day was 1-2x.

Are you by any chance familiar with castor oil packs? I've been thinking they might be a very beneficial addition to the Alpha-Stim for you, and they could be done simultaneously. Castor oil is reputed to have a remarkable ability to harmonize our nervous systems (originally often recommended by Edgar Cayce). I've come to believe there's some sort of neurological integration that needs to take place after any kind of major shift in the body, including tinnitus onset, and that these packs can be very helpful in that integration process.

I'm currently doing a castor oil pack daily, and have found it to be one of the most relaxing, unwinding therapies I'm familiar with. I read a book on the topic years ago (link below) and was highly impressed by one of the testimonials in the book. If you read about three paragraphs at this link starting with "Velma is a seventy-two...", it dramatically illustrates how one therapy session alone successfully addressed a 23-year long history of intense intestinal discomfort --- within minutes. I definitely think my daily regimen doing a castor oil pack helps keep my nervous system out of hyperactivity caused by tinnitus.

The Oil That Heals: A Physician's Successes With Castor Oil Treatments

 

[Mumbo]

For around a year, I'd use marijuana a couple times a week to help me relax for sleep in the form of edibles. Loved it. Really took my mind off things and I could meditate to a nice full body euphoria as I drifted off to sleep. I never really noticed if it spiked my tinnitus because I was always feeling too much pleasure to care. It tends to heighten all senses so I imagine it did and I just never noticed.

However, about a month ago I took a small amount of edibles, then woke up with a new maddening ring in my left ear which has yet to go away. I don't know if it was coincidence or not, but I've been too afraid to try marijuana since. I really miss it, but my tinnitus is already beyond what I'm capable of tolerating. Any further degeneration will absolutely drive me to madness. But man, I tell ya, if I ever discover my tinnitus was unrelated I'll be diving into my stash immediately as my brain and body floats back up towards heaven.