Yes, you read that headline right.

Tinnitus, that obnoxious ringing in your ears (or buzzing, hissing, whooshing sound depending on your personal auditory experiences) is NOT just for people who have hearing loss or who have experienced auditory damage of some kinds.

An estimated 10 to 25 percent of adults have tinnitus.

More alarmingly in 2024, 43% of adults say they feel more anxious than they did the previous year, up from 37% in 2023. Many said this was due to increased stress.

And when adults were identifying lifestyle factors that can impact their mental health and wellbeing, guess what were the top two? Stress (53%) and sleep (40%), both of which can impact and be impacted by tinnitus.

Excessive Stress and Anxiety Can Cause Tinnitus

If you’ve ever noticed that when work is piling up or family conflict is high that you perceive a noise or ringing in your ears, it’s likely stress-induced tinnitus. High or long-term stress and anxiety can be a common cause of tinnitus.

The reason for this is that when your body is stressed out, it triggers the release of stress hormones (hello, cortisol) which can negatively affect blood flow to the inner ear. This can increase inflammation in the auditory system, disrupt the normal functioning of the nerves involved for your hearing, and lead to tinnitus.

And because stress can heighten sensitivity to already existing subtle sounds in the ear, making tinnitus more noticeable, the higher your stress, the louder the noise in you ears may appear to be.

And it’s not surprising. Tinnitus is not a disease itself. But, it is a symptom of an underlying issue, and for those who have high-stress careers or lives, it could be a physical sign to slow down, manage your stress and consider avenues to better support your mental health.

Bigger Issue is Tinnitus from Stress Can Hurt More Than Your Ears

Tinnitus is distracting and can affect your concentration big time. But even worse, when stress is causing tinnitus, the two can exacerbate the other.

When tinnitus occurs due to stress and anxiety, this can also lead to:

Reduce sleep quality
Poor concentration and focus
Fatigue
Increased stress and anxiety
Higher risk of emotional dysregulation and depression
Decreased overall health due to poor sleep and hormonal fluctuations from stress that tinnitus exacerbates

What You Can Do to Reduce Tinnitus From Stress or Anxiety

There are a few options to help when you’re dealing with tinnitus and stress or anxiety.

Manage stress as best you can

We know it’s not always easy (or even possible) to eliminate the stressors in your life. For example, it’s not necessarily an option to quit that busy job. But we do recommend trying to implement stress-reduction techniques such as meditation, deep breathing, low-impact exercise, spending time outside in nature and reducing caffeine.

Cut back on the caffeine

We get it. Coffee is survival juice. Tea is amazing, and Celsius can really get you through the day sometimes. But, if you’re feeling stressed or anxious, and you also have ringing ears – it’s maybe a sign to cut back. Why?

Because even though the data around caffeine consumption and impact on tinnitus is not clear-cut (some studies show it makes tinnitus worse, others have found it could potentially help with discomfort for some individuals), the data is clear that too much caffeine can worsen stress and anxiety, increasing heart rate, and leading to increased nervousness or restlessness.

So it’s not hard for us to stay if caffeine is ramping up your stress and anxiety, it’s likely also contributing to more or louder ringing sounds in your ears.

Limit noise exposure

We’re not just saying this, so you protect your hearing. Using earplugs in loud environments and limiting your exposure to high volumes when enjoying music and video, can help with tinnitus and also stress.

Consult with an audiologist for tinnitus relief treatments

Finally, if tinnitus is prevalent, come talk with us. While there is no cure for tinnitus, there are options for managing and finding tinnitus relief. Learn about sound therapy and tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT) here.

There are a lot of causes of tinnitus. And as we said in the beginning, it’s usually a symptom of an underlying condition. We’re here to help with the ringing sounds, and then we highly encourage you to connect with your mental healthcare professional if you are struggling with stress or anxiety in your life.