Marijuana / Cannabis and Tinnitus

The American Tinnitus Association ototoxic list has "Marijuana (sativa)" but no
mention of indica. Does this mean indica is not ototoxic?

List:
https://www.ata.org/sites/default/files/Drugs Associated with Tinnitus 2013_Updated2017.pdf

 

A friend gave me some cbd keef with a low level of thc in it and from my experience, over the past month, it neither helps or hurts my tinnitus but it does help me fall to sleep. I think the key is to not smoke high thc marijuana or at the very least, use very small amounts .

 

Pretty sure they have no idea what they are talking about. Cannabis isn't ototoxic as far as anyone knows, and if it was sativa or indica wouldn't matter

There's anecdotal evidence to suggest that cannabis can be detrimental for people with tinnitus, but cannabis isn't toxic in any way as far as I know

 

They do say this at the start of the pdf:

"Just because a drug is listed does not mean that you will automatically get tinnitus, or exacerbate existing tinnitus, if you take it. A few will, but many will not. Whether or not you experience tinnitus after taking one of the listed drugs or herbals, or after being exposed to one of the listed chemicals, depends on many factors ‐ such as your own body chemistry, your sensitivity to drugs, the dose you take, or the length of time you take the drug."

 

I see, well it kind of makes sense then. They based it on that rat study most likely. It's a list to protect people, and even as a weed/hemp advocate I agree that SOME people with tinnitus or other problems should be protected from cannabis

 

My only personal experience with marijuana was that it made me very nervous and even more aware of my tinnitus, it was not a pleasant experience. Only time I had ever tried it, never tried it again. I know there's like a zillion different types with different levels of THC and CBD levels and all that jazz. Maybe something different would help, but the whole 'being illegal' almost everywhere makes it a bit difficult to try out for me personally.

Just another drop in the anecdotal evidence bucket.

 

Totally legal in Canada.

 

The vast majority of cannabis products available today are hybrids of cannabis sativa and cannabis indica. Sativa is more of a head high, while indica is used for pain relief, sleep, relaxation, etc. Sativa plants are very tall, and difficult to grow in a non-tropical environment. This is the type of "pot" that was available when imports were smuggled in from Mexico, Columbia, Panama, etc. Indica, which is a shorter plant, was usually the type used in hashish-producing countries and regions such as India, Afghanistan, Turkey, Tibet, Nepal, Kashmir, etc . Most commercial domestic (U.S., Canada, Europe) hybrid marijuana stains that are marketed today have information available, regarding whether it's indica or sativa dominant, and the results that can be expected. Perhaps some clever growers will someday develop strains for tinnitus relief, which could be marketed using such names as Tinnitus Killer, Quiet Kush, Calm Ears, Golden Silence, or similar phrases. If anybody happens to know any marijuana growers, it might be worth mentioning this. If tinnitus-specific products are not practical, for the industry to market, there surely must be some strains already available that could be tested, so that individual tinnitus sufferers won't have to try dozens or hundreds of products, before finding one that might work on tinnitus. In fact, it wouldn't be a bad idea to have a database for such a purpose, in the meantime, with input from those who have experience with marijuana for tinnitus. I think that Indica-dominant strains are best, and popular, for tinnitus relief but specific strains that excel for this purpose, have yet to be identified.

 

Studies have shown that marijuana can be a trigger for schizophrenia. There are studies that, like tinnitus, marijuana can physically alter the brain’s structure.

Brains with tinnitus are messed up... I don’t understand why anyone would want to experiment with this... or any drug... including benzos.

 

The only thing scarier than drugs is reality.

 

Because it can help with sleep and not sleeping is definitely going to lead to psychosis. Also, the problem with marijuana these days is the combo of much of it being high strength and people thinking that it's completely harmless. Like everything else, it needs to be treated with respect, especially when it's 25% thc.

 

No doubt it can help with sleep... so can gorging on beer and pizza.

I’m not condemning marijuana, because I think CBD can help many people. Conversely, I wonder if my medical mishap was caused by the technician being high... in the US as many as 16% of people are high at work. I have random drug tests in my job to prevent that, hopefully.

In general, I think drugs are dispensed too easily by Docs, which lead to bigger issues.

 

In Canada we stopped jailing people and ruining lives for smoking a little pot. Unlike our american neighbours who have the highest incarceration rates in the history of humanity. Jailing people in the usa is big business, as it is privatized and for profit.

Smoke 'em if you've got 'em.

 

There is not a single instance in the records of medical science, of a single human death due to marijuana use. Can the same be said for alcohol, benzos, opium-derived narcotics such as heroin, synthetic narcotics, other drugs too numerous to name, or even aspirin? Marijuana has been slandered and demonized for so long, that people still believe lies that began during the first half of the 20th century, and most of this propaganda was started by those who did not wish people to have a safe, non-addicting, non-expensive, natural way to relieve stress, help with many medical conditions, and of course, to enjoy it's mild to moderate intoxicating effect.

 

Straw man argument sir. I did not demonize marijuana, and if you were high while responding, I understand.

You didn’t refute the link between marijuana and schizophrenia... and I didn’t say someone could overdose on marijuana, did I?

All drugs are given out too much, IMO....and you are correct, they all have risks....even weed.

WebMD: “One analysis of several studies found that marijuana, also called cannabis, is one of the most commonly abused substances among people with schizophrenia. Young people with the condition, in particular, may abuse it more often than alcohol.

 

Gorging on pizza probably doesn't help sleep. Alcohol helps sleep onset but tends to cause waking after 2-3 hours. Also, alcohol is neurotoxic and carcinogenic in a dose-dependant way; cannabis is neither of those things.

I can promise you that in software it's a lot higher than that; one of the most hardcore stoners I know is a senior engineering manager making ~200K with bonuses, who routinely vapes on meetings with me. THE HORROR! Also that guy can code circles around 2/3rds of the devs I have worked with. I probably wouldn't want my air traffic controller high, but the idea that cannabis is universally detrimental to getting work done is hilarious to me; I do not think I would have managed a computer science degree without weed; if I had, I probably would have landed on antipsychotics or something worse to deal with the stress of that pressure cooker.

This I 100% agree with.

I will This has been studied extensively and there's definitely a (small, but statistically relevant) correlation between youth cannabis exposure and schizophrenia onset. However, this is very muddled because schizophrenics are known to gravitate towards cannabis for symptom control, leading some to suspect that the correlation is simply people self-medicating prior to diagnosis.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/17/health/cannabis-marijuana-schizophrenia.html

This is a fairly recent, IMO reasonable summary of where we are, data wise:

So, I am willing to dismiss "MARIJUANA CAUSES SCHIZOPHRENIA!" as drug-war hysteria, because those original papers from the 60s were all drug warrior crap and have been dismissed by modern academics doing this work. The question of, "does heavy marijuana use among teenagers predispose them to slightly higher risks of schizophrenia later in life?" I would very much say is an open question that is hard to study and more data needed.

It's important to remember that ~1% of the general population has schizophrenia, whereas 10% of US high-school seniors say they smoke pot 20 times a month or more. Also, note that the rate of cannabis use has increased modestly over the last 10 years in the US, and I can find no such corresponding rise in schizophrenia.

 

@linearb You mischaracterize many statements. I never said anything was urgent, or crucial, or horrific...those are simply YOUR mischaracterizations. I NEVER said this, nor insinuated this....“MARIJUANA CAUSES SCHIZOPHRENIA!” NEVER DID.....

A link simply means some evidence, and as you rightly point out the evidence may be lacking...good to know.

“Can cannabis use cause psychosis?
Yes, but so can overuse of caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, stimulants and hallucinogens.“

Carbs certainly make some sleepy, and Naval flight surgeons have actually recommended a beer to help some get to sleep.....I never advocated doing either one.

This is really a straw man argument ....Your software smoking buddy....has no lives on the line. Let me know if you want your brain surgeon smoking a joint as he opens up your cranium. However, it’s great your buddy has been successful....drug use doesn’t fit with every occupation.

You seem to believe that I was saying marijuana is worse than any other drug, which I didn’t....again...simply the point of in a tinnitus forum, there is risk taking ANY drug that will affect the brain....period.

I’m not anti-anything...I just read the posts of people trying drugs on this forum that got tinnitus from pot, or cocaine...heck....from antibiotics....that is all terrible. I was simply urging caution.

If marijuana helps someone....by all means please do it!
Peace to all.

 

There is definitely a connection between cannabis and tinnitus.
There are a A LOT of CB-receptors in the Cochlear Nucleus affecting its plasticity.
But I can't tell if it affects positively or negatively.
That's why I'm not vaping any weed for the time of my Lenire treatment.
I'm 2 months clean today, a few months to go.

I love weed.

 

I completely agree that any drug can alter brain function and should be approached with caution.

I took exception to the schizophrenia line because it's a tired idea with its roots in 60s drug war hysteria and not in much actual research, it goes all the way back to Henry Anslinger and co.

 

Fair enough...

 

I've had tinnitus as long as I can remember and have learned to live with it. Generally, I don't think about it which is the best. It doesn't seem to affect my hearing or anything just adds a dimension. I've also smoked weed and vaped sometimes for a break since I was 18 and am 56 now. In fact, I use quite a bit of it and most days. I've not found it to be any benefit for tinnitus but nor does it worsen it for me. I don't believe in incurable, I cured my cardio problems after a heart attack and many years of stable angina I then realised and have no symptoms or restrictions on diet anymore. That was actually quite easy and the cure has worked on a number of other people who followed my advice. Now I have turned my attention to tinnitus because it would be nice to leave it behind. Today is day one in that regard. I just ordered a supplement which sounds promising but is not endorsed by the discussions about it on this site. Still, I ordered it after reading the negative reviews because I don't have anything to lose and its sales pitch makes more sense than most so let's see. The promise of a giant brain sounds OK I guess but the one I have seems adequate and often my biggest problem in relationships so I'm ambivalent about that part.

CBD is definitely useful for some things, including some that have supposedly no cure, even brain tumours but I don't believe cannabis whether CBD or THC has any promise even as a relief by relaxation for tinnitus for the record.

 

Not to be negative or put you down, but tinnitus will make you lose faith in a lot of things, at least for some...

 

"will make you" is at direct odds with "at least for some"

Tinnitus is how I found faith in basically anything, and reasons to keep going.

 

Captain's log...

Start date July 7, 2020, accepted generally as a date of some consensus by the local human population.

Finding that smoking copious quantities of high grade skunk to be therapeutic. It does not change or alter the shrill tinnitus scream but it makes me calm and sleep feels good. I feel my creative blocks melting, something that has eluded me and tortured me as an artist since chronic tinnitus entered my life.

 

I've had tinnitus for almost three months now, and in that time, I've had to change so many things about my lifestyle that I feel far removed from the person I used to be. Things weren't perfect, but they were getting better.

Part of my nightly routine for the past year or so was to take a few 1-hits and sit back and watch MST3k or Cowboy Bebop. I gave that up a few days into this because the persistent ringing was causing anxiety, which in turn made the ringing louder. This might seem trivial to a lot of people, but it was something that I really looked forward to.

Now my nights are just listening to podcasts and browsing Reddit. I really hope this goes away. I just want to feel like myself again.

 

I'm now 8 months in. For the first 6 weeks I stopped using marijuana because I thought it was causing a spike. Now I'm over the hump and I realize that spikes come when they want whether I smoke or not. In fact running my air conditioner seems to cause more of a spike than smoking a small amount of marijuana and I'm certainly not going to stop running my AC. The AC keeps me cool and marijuana helps me sleep. Many here will disagree with me but that's my experience so far. Live your life and be as happy as you can be, don't let tinnitus rule you.

 

Yo yo @linearb.

I was stoked to read you had a tincture and a nice trip over the elections. I had done the same thing, with some super powered olive oil infused with some sweet herbs. I fired up my steam bath, sunned, read and made art. It was a great day .
I have a lot to be grateful for.

 

Does cannabis alleviate tinnitus? A review of the current literature

Objective(s)
Endocannabinoid pathways have been proposed to affect the underlying pathophysiology of tinnitus. The aim of this study is to evaluate the scope and findings of existing literature on the relationship between cannabis and cannabinoid pathways and tinnitus.

Methods
We conducted a review of animal, clinical and survey studies investigating the relationship between the use of cannabis‐derived agents and tinnitus. Using pertinent keywords and MeSH terms on PubMed, relevant studies were identified, yielding four animal studies, two large cross‐sectional survey studies, one clinical cross‐over study, and one case report.

Results
Animal studies revealed that cannabinoid receptor expression in the cochlear nucleus varied with tinnitus symptomatology and the use of cannabinoid agents either increased or had no effect on tinnitus‐related behavior. Survey studies yielded conflicting results between cannabis use and tinnitus in the general population. Clinical data is largely lacking, although a small cohort study showed a dose‐dependent relationship between tetrahydrocannabinol consumption and frequency of tinnitus episodes in patients receiving treatment for cancer.

Conclusion
While animal studies have revealed that cannabinoid receptors likely have a role in modulating auditory signaling, there is no compelling data either from animal or human studies for the use of cannabinoids to alleviate tinnitus. Further research is necessary to elucidate their precise role to guide development of therapeutic interventions.

Full article: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/lio2.479

 

@Frédéric I see your posts so often and they are such no-bullshit, just the facts sorts of posts. I know nothing of your situation but thanks for your contributions.

My input here will be the opposite - totally subjective.

I live where cannabis is legal and I use it from time to time. In my experience high THC varieties will increase my T while it is active (but has no long term detrimental effect for T). High CBD varieties have no negative effect and in fact may help me forget about it for a while and get some sleep.

Just to add my observations to this wildly old thread.