Cannabinoids (cannabidiol, cannabinol)
Here we look at the claims for Cannabinoids (cannabidiol, cannabinol).
Treatment details
Type
CBD dietary supplement
Safety
Evidence of harm
Efficacy
Evidence that it is not effective
Recommended?
No
Claims for treatment
Reduces or eliminates the perception of tinnitus.
What is the treatment?
Cannabinoids are usually taken in the form of gummie sweets or as oil taken under the tongue.
What are the downsides of this treatment?
Animal models suggest that cannabinoids may promote the development of tinnitus[1] [2].
Users of marijuana are more likely to experience tinnitus[3].
Cost.
Has there been research into this treatment?
There are 10 relevant papers found with keywords tinnitus + cannabinoid in PubMed database.
What does the research say?
To date, there have been no systematic studies of the effects of cannabinoids on tinnitus in humans[4].
It is feasible that different cannabinoids may have different effects on tinnitus[5].
Very little research has been done, but the evidence so far suggests that cannabinoids may exacerbate tinnitus.
Licences for the use of CBD oil or hemp oil as a medicine have not yet been granted.
“Dietary supplements should not be recommended to treat tinnitus.[6]”
Comments
Products containing CBD oil are legal in the UK, providing the content of a psychoactive component of cannabis (THC, tetrahydrocannabinol) is 0.2% or below.
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Give what you canAll online references accessed 8 November 2022 unless noted.
1. Zheng Y, Reid P, Smith PF. Cannabinoid CB1 receptor agonists do not decrease, but may increase acoustic trauma-induced tinnitus in rats. Frontiers in Neurology (2015). https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2015.00060
2. Narwani V, Bourdillon A, Nalamada K, Manes RP, Hildrew DM. Does cannabis alleviate tinnitus? A review of the current literature. Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology. (2020)
Oct 30;5(6):1147-1155. doi: 10.1002/lio2.479.
3. Qian ZJ, Alyono JC. An Association between marijuana use and tinnitus. American Journal of Otolaryngology.
(2020); 41(1): 102314. doi:10.1016/j.
amjoto.2019.102314
4. Smith PF, Zheng Y. Cannabinoids, cannabinoid receptors and tinnitus. Hearing Research. (2016); 332 210-216.
5. Narwani V, Bourdillon A, Nalamada K, Manes RP, Hildrew DM. Does cannabis alleviate tinnitus? A review of the current literature. Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology. (2020)
Oct 30;5(6):1147-1155. doi: 10.1002/
lio2.479.
6. Coelho C, Tyler R et al. Survey on the Effectiveness of Dietary Supplements to Treat Tinnitus. American Journal of Audiology. (2016) 25(3): 184-205