Can CBD Help Tinnitus Sufferers Find Relief?

Glenn Uncategorized 7 Comments

DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT A DOCTOR or a medical professional. Always speak with your doctor before trying any new drug, supplement, or treatment. (Full disclaimer)

If you follow any of the tinnitus message boards or Facebook groups, you’ve probably seen people mention a supplement called Cannabidiol (or CBD for short).

For a while now, CBD has been on my radar. And not just from the support groups. I’ve seen so many headlines praising CBD for it’s seemingly endless list of potential benefits. So I decided to try it for myself.

I’ve been taking CBD oil every single day for the last few weeks, and I have to say, I’m impressed!.

But first, let’s start with the basics.  cannabidiol is one of 113 different cannabinoids found in the marijuana plant. On its own, it’s non-psychoactive which means you will not get high from consuming CBD. Yet it’s believed to be responsible for many of the medicinal effects of cannabis.

Studies have shown CBD to have a wide variety of medicinal properties, from anti-inflammatory to anti-anxiety and anti-nausea. It’s also neuroprotective, has pain-killing properties, and can help to lower blood pressure, amongst many other benefits.

Products and Consumption:

Cannabidiol is a component of marijuana and hemp, but it can also be extracted and taken on its own as a supplement.

Because of this, as long as a CBD product contains .3% THC or less, it’s considered to be a hemp product, and is legal in the US and many other countries.

(It’s worth noting that hemp seed oil is a different thing altogether, and contains little to no cannabidiol. So hemp seed oil is not what we’re talking about here today.)

There are many different forms of cannabidiol products available on the market, from isolated CBD powders, to vape ready concentrates, as well as full spectrum plant tincture oils, which is what I’ve been using.

And there are also multiple ways to ingest CBD. It can be consumed orally, vaped or smoked and absorbed through the lungs, or taken sublingually and absorbed through the capillaries under the tongue.

For the sake of this post, however, I will be focusing on my experiences with full spectrum hemp oil, of which, CBD is the primary component.

And I have to say, my experiences have been incredible.

What it’s like:

To be clear, CBD does not seem to have any direct effect on my tinnitus.

But indirectly, it’s a Godsend, because it reduces my anxiety and stress more than anything else I’ve ever tried by far. And when my stress and anxiety levels go down, my tinnitus is so much less noticeable. Stress and anxiety are such big triggers.

When I first tried CBD, I was having a lot of anxiety. I’ve been dealing with an ongoing neck injury, and after getting a massage, I noticed they were selling the Charlotte’s Web brand of CBD oil at the spa.

I had heard of this brand before, and I was curious, so I decided to give it a shot. And within 15-20 minutes of ingesting it, my anxiety was gone. Not just diminished, but gone – entirely.

It’s hard to describe what it feels like, because honestly, I’ve never felt anything quite like it before.

An amazing experience:

The first thing I noticed was a subtle but wonderful feeling in my body. My muscles were relaxed and I felt great physically. Almost immediately, the physical symptoms of my anxiety went away. The uncomfortable tension in my chest and stomach disappeared.

Mentally, I was calm and focused, but more importantly, I was not impaired. Though I realize now that the recommended dosage I took initially was much more than what I actually needed.

At these higher doses, I noticed a slight, somewhat uncomfortable pressure on my head. It was also a bit sedating, as well.

I ultimately found that I needed much less to control my anxiety, with as little as 25% of my initial dose being just as effective but without the side effects. Finding the right dosage seems to involve a lot of trial and error for most people.

The CBD has also greatly improved my sleep. But again, I think this is more a product of the stress and anxiety relief than anything else. It’s much easier to fall asleep when your body is calm and your mind isn’t racing.

Your milage may vary:

Everyone seems to have a different experience with CBD.

Many people do experience the benefits immediately, like I did, while for others it’s a cumulative effect, requiring daily consumption. And some people don’t really notice any effects at all.

But my experience has been transformative, because I’ve struggled with anxiety for most of my life. Finding a tool like CBD that provides such a remarkable level of relief is wonderful beyond words!

How to purchase CBD?

There are quite a few reputable vendors with very high-quality CBD products offered at reasonable prices. I say reasonable because even when the pricing is competitive, CBD isn’t cheap.

And the cost is certainly prohibitive. I have a feeling that it’s going to be more accessible as time goes on, but for now, you can expect to pay anywhere between 25¢ and $3.00+ per dose depending on the concentration, how much you need to take, and how much you purchase at once.

But at the end of the day, it’s been worth it for me and I plan to continue to use it on an as-needed basis.

And it just be worth it for you too.

Reputable Vendors:

More information about cannabidiol:

NOTE: Some of the links featured in this post are affiliate links. If you decide to purchase a product through these links, Rewiring Tinnitus may receive a small commission that goes toward the maintenance cost of the website.

Comments 7

  1. Hi
    I’ve had tinnitus since 1991.
    Learned to live with it!
    That is before a bizzzare shift occurred in 2010
    And has not changed since.
    Right before awake/sleep cycle my baseline
    Tea kettle pitch fires/spikes for a split second
    And prevents me from falling asleep.
    When I’m awake never happens!
    Also happens if I’m startled by something.
    Clues?

    1. Post
      Author

      Hi John, that is strange! Just to clarify, it’s only when you’re falling asleep and only for a split second? Does your tinnitus ever bother you when you’re awake at all?

  2. Dear Glen, Thanks for all your information on tinnitus and tinnitus relief. Bought and read your book rewiring tinnitus and am really motivated to put your tinnitus meditation into practice, for the obvious reason of learning to get control over my tinnitus and to achiev habituation. Habituation you explain occurs when the tinnitus doesn’t result in emotional and physical reponds such as anxiety and muscle tension (amongst others). You say you are not bothered by tinnitus anymore at all because of the theory of your book. The question I have now is why do you experience anxiety now requiring you to take CBD? I hope your rewiring tinnitus book is still “valid” in your opinion…or do you have new ideas/protocols?
    Regards, Jurriaan

    1. Post
      Author

      Hi Jurriaan, good question! I’m not bothered at all by my tinnitus any more, but I still get anxiety/stress unrelated to tinnitus, which triggers my Meniere’s disease and can make the tinnitus a little louder. But the anxiety is not a result of the tinnitus. And on the rare occasion that I do get a tinnitus spike and it seems intrusive, a few minutes of tinnitus meditation is all I need to be okay again. Something like CBD isn’t necessary to the process of habituation. It’s just another tool in my toolkit for maintaining quality of life. Hope that made sense!

      As far as new protocols/ideas, I do have a few new short-term coping strategies that are not in the book, and designed to help improve quality of life early on when someone is just getting started with my techniques. But the primary habituation strategy I describe in the book has not changed. If you want to learn a bit more about some of my new coping strategies, this post is a good place to start: https://rewiringtinnitus.com/how-to-stop-obsessing-focusing-ruminating-over-tinnitus/

    1. Post
      Author

      It doesn’t lower my tinnitus, but it reduces my anxiety and stress, which make my tinnitus worse. So indirectly it helps me cope with tinnitus and raises my quality of life.

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