More than half of patients with tinnitus reported current or previous use of cannabis for managing symptoms.

Tinnitus, one of the most common neuro-ontological conditions, is associated with a significant negative effect on patients’ QOL, impacting mental health, sleep, and concentration. Conventional treatments include masking the symptoms, hearing amplification, anti-anxiolytics, and cognitive behavioral therapy.

Some patients with tinnitus find relief with these treatment strategies, while others struggle and look to alternative paths to treatment. One of these options has been cannabis, which has been used to treat ailments such as neuropathic pain, anxiety, depression, headaches, and seizures.

However, there is very little research regarding the treatment of tinnitus with cannabis. To address this knowledge gap, Trung Le, MD, PhD, FRCSC, and colleagues developed a study using a cross-sectional 18-item questionnaire to gauge the attitudes toward and usage of cannabis in the tinnitus patient population.

Attitudes Toward Use

Using convenience sampling, Dr. Le and colleagues randomly selected patients with tinnitus from an outpatient neuro-otology clinic of three practicing neurotologists. They published their findings in the Journal of Otolaryngology—Head & Neck Surgery.

Of the 53 patients approached to participate, 45 chose to complete the questionnaire, for an 85% response rate. The median age of the participants was 56 (range, 31-76), and there were more female than male participants (31 vs 14).

Regarding cannabis use, 42% of the participants reported never having used it, while 36% had used cannabis at some point in the past and 22% reported current use (Figure). Among those patients who reported prior cannabis use, the most recent usage ranged from 3 months to 50 years before participation in the survey. Two of these patients reported that they only used cannabis once in the past.

Active Cannabis Users

Among the active cannabis users, six were male and four were female, ranging in age from 31-70. The reported rate of use in this group ranged from five times per day to one time per month, and the range of this usage was between two months and 50 years. The preferred methods of ingesting or applying cannabis among this group were edibles (60%), smoking/vaporizing (60%), oil (30%), tablets (20%), and cream (10%).

Among the 10 self-identified cannabis users, eight stated that its use has helped to relieve some of their tinnitus-related symptoms. Specifically, they reported that it helped manage dizziness/unsteadiness/disequilibrium (38%), auditory symptoms (38%), emotional difficulties such as anxiety, depression, feeling upset, and fear (75%), pain, including headache and neck pain/aches (88%), sleep disturbances (88%), and functional difficulties, including concentration, fatigue, and work disturbances (50%).

Gathering Information

Nearly all participants surveyed (43/45; 96%) said they would consider cannabis as an option for managing tinnitus, and cannabis was perceived to be a viable tinnitus treatment. For patients considering the use of cannabis-derived treatments, edibles were the most desirable route of delivery (62%), followed by tablets (58%), cream (47%), vaporizing (20%), oil (13%), smoking (7%), and a patch (2%).

In terms of the source that participants pursued to learn about cannabis for tinnitus, 51% learned about it from a friend or family member, 22% from social media, 22% from a doctor or nurse, and 20% from a website or blogs, while 22% received no information regarding cannabis as a treatment. Nearly all participants (98%) were interested in receiving more information about cannabis as a treatment option for tinnitus if it was shown to alleviate symptoms of the condition. It was shown that 80% of participants would like to receive more information about cannabis as a treatment option from their physician.

“Otolaryngologists can develop an understanding of patient attitudes and usage patterns to guide patient counseling on the use of cannabis for symptoms associated with tinnitus,” Dr. Le and colleagues wrote. “The results of this study will contribute to the understanding of the current use of cannabis in the tinnitus population and may help researchers understand how to focus future tinnitus and cannabis research.”