Cannabis and Tinnitus in People with and without HIV

Introduction/Objective The relationship between cannabis use and tinnitus is unclear, particularly among people with HIV. The relationship between cannabis use and tinnitus prevalence and its severity in the MACS/WIHS Combined Cohort Study (MWCCS) was examined. Methods Cross-sectional data collected between October 1, 2020, and September 30, 2022, were drawn from the MWCCS. Tinnitus was defined as bothersome ringing, roaring, or buzzing in the ears or head that lasted for 5 minutes or more in the past 12 months. Tinnitus severity (among those reporting tinnitus) was dichotomized as no/small problem versus moderate to very big problem. Cannabis use was self-reported as the frequency of use in the past six months. Modified Poisson regression models were used to estimate associations adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, HIV status, loud noise exposure, self-rated hearing, smoking, depression, as well as HIV viral load suppression and years of nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors medication use (only for those with HIV). Results Among 3,437 participants (mean age=55; 55% female; 63% PWH), 31% reported cannabis use and 16% reported tinnitus. There was no statistically significant association between cannabis use and tinnitus prevalence. However, any cannabis use was significantly associated with a 29% lower prevalence of reporting moderate-to-severe tinnitus severity (aPR=0.71; 95% CI: 0.54–0.94). Stratified analyses also showed that any cannabis use was associated with a lower prevalence of reporting moderate-to-severe tinnitus severity (aPR=0.58; 95% CI: 0.37–0.90) among persons without HIV. Discussion Cannabis use was not associated with tinnitus prevalence but was associated with lower perceived tinnitus severity, particularly among participants without HIV. These findings suggest that cannabis may influence the subjective burden of tinnitus rather than its occurrence, although the underlying mechanisms remain unclear and may involve factors such as symptom perception or coping. Conclusion In this large cohort, cannabis use was not associated with the presence of tinnitus but was associated with lower reported tinnitus severity. Given the cross-sectional design and potential for residual confounding, these findings should be considered hypothesis-generating and warrant confirmation in longitudinal studies.

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Journal
The Open AIDS Journal
Published
2026-08-20
DOI
https://doi.org/10.2174/0118746136457303260813073100
Primary Topic
Hearing, Cochlea, Tinnitus, Genetics
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Cannabis and Tinnitus in People with and without HIV

Chukwuemeka N. Okafor, Bradley E. Aouizerat, Kara W Chew, Andrew Edmonds et al.
The Open AIDS Journal
Hearing, Cochlea, Tinnitus, Genetics
article

Cannabis and Tinnitus in People with and without HIV

Chukwuemeka N. Okafor, Bradley E. Aouizerat, Kara W Chew, Andrew Edmonds, Valentina Stosor, Gayle Springer, Howard J. Hoffman, Allison G. Abraham, Kathleen M. Weber, MW Plankey, Deborah L. Jones, Peter Torre, Phyllis C. Tien, Ducel Jean-Berluche, Cecile D. Lahiri, Deanna Ware, Todd T. Brown, Mirjam-Colette Kempf, Deborah Gustafson, Ken Ho, Anjali Sharma
article en

Abstract

Introduction/Objective The relationship between cannabis use and tinnitus is unclear, particularly among people with HIV. The relationship between cannabis use and tinnitus prevalence and its severity in the MACS/WIHS Combined Cohort Study (MWCCS) was examined. Methods Cross-sectional data collected between October 1, 2020, and September 30, 2022, were drawn from the MWCCS. Tinnitus was defined as bothersome ringing, roaring, or buzzing in the ears or head that lasted for 5 minutes or more in the past 12 months. Tinnitus severity (among those reporting tinnitus) was dichotomized as no/small problem versus moderate to very big problem. Cannabis use was self-reported as the frequency of use in the past six months. Modified Poisson regression models were used to estimate associations adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, HIV status, loud noise exposure, self-rated hearing, smoking, depression, as well as HIV viral load suppression and years of nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors medication use (only for those with HIV). Results Among 3,437 participants (mean age=55; 55% female; 63% PWH), 31% reported cannabis use and 16% reported tinnitus. There was no statistically significant association between cannabis use and tinnitus prevalence. However, any cannabis use was significantly associated with a 29% lower prevalence of reporting moderate-to-severe tinnitus severity (aPR=0.71; 95% CI: 0.54–0.94). Stratified analyses also showed that any cannabis use was associated with a lower prevalence of reporting moderate-to-severe tinnitus severity (aPR=0.58; 95% CI: 0.37–0.90) among persons without HIV. Discussion Cannabis use was not associated with tinnitus prevalence but was associated with lower perceived tinnitus severity, particularly among participants without HIV. These findings suggest that cannabis may influence the subjective burden of tinnitus rather than its occurrence, although the underlying mechanisms remain unclear and may involve factors such as symptom perception or coping. Conclusion In this large cohort, cannabis use was not associated with the presence of tinnitus but was associated with lower reported tinnitus severity. Given the cross-sectional design and potential for residual confounding, these findings should be considered hypothesis-generating and warrant confirmation in longitudinal studies.

The Open AIDS JournalVol. 20(1)
Northwestern University (US), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US), Albert Einstein College of Medicine (US), Johns Hopkins University (US), University of Miami (US), Emory University (US), Colorado School of Public Health (US), University of California, Los Angeles (US), The University of Texas at San Antonio Health Science Center (US), University of Pittsburgh (US), University of California, San Francisco (US), SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University (US), Georgetown University (US), Johns Hopkins Medicine (US), Georgetown University Medical Center (US), University of Alabama at Birmingham (US), Hektoen Institute (US), Texas Center for Infectious Disease (US), National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (US), National Medical Research Center of Dentistry and Maxillofacial Surgery (RU), New York University (US)
Northwestern University, Georgia Clinical and Translational Science Alliance, National Institutes of Health, University of California, San Francisco, Center for AIDS Research, University of Alabama at Birmingham, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institute on Aging, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Cancer Institute, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institute of Nursing Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, Center for AIDS Research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Clinical and Translational Science Institute, University of California, Los Angeles
Good health and well-being
Openalex Percentile: Top 12%
Hearing, Cochlea, Tinnitus, Genetics
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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