Aspirin is made from the compound known as acetylsalicylic acid, a derivative of salicylic acid which is found naturally in the bark of the willow tree. If you have heard the stories of Native Americans using willow bark brew to treat their ailing comrades, this was the reason. Salicylic acid possesses analgesic, anti-inflammatory and anti-coagulate properties, and is very effective at fairly low doses. This makes aspirin one of the most widely used medicines, as it can relieve anything from a minor ache to a migraine, fever, and even diabetic cataracts and blood clots.

    However, aspirin’s makeup is mildly toxic, and the overuse of it can cause a variety of symptoms and problems including stomach ulcers. But most importantly for individuals who suffer with tinnitus this painkiller and blood thinner can aggravate and even cause the buzzing/ringing symptoms. It is ototoxic – it causes destructive damage to the structure of the ear, specifically to the cochlea, while other ototoxic drugs also affect the auditory nerve and sometimes the vestibulum.

 Although aspirin is a free-radical scavenger, its ototoxic properties have more effect on the body and will aggravate the symptoms of an existing tinnitus condition. Often accidental, non-lethal overdoses of aspirin result in the original emergence of underlying tinnitus, especially for those individuals susceptible to it. There appears to be a hereditary predisposition to ototoxic reactions and other underlying conditions which cause tinnitus.

   If you are a tinnitus sufferer it is suggested that you avoid the use of aspirin as an analgesic for mild pain and instead go for non-salicylate non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen.