Diet’s Role in Managing Tinnitus

Tinnitus is a common symptom that will affect more than one-third of people in their lifetime. It can present as a ringing, buzzing, hissing or other kind of noise in the ear that has no external source. When audiologists treat tinnitus, they will often look at a range of lifestyle factors, to see if there are any notable risks. Certain things, such as taking certain medications, smoking or drinking alcohol, have been linked to tinnitus before, but there’s some evidence to suggest that diet may play a part as well.

How Your Diet May Affect Tinnitus

It is difficult to find any concrete links between diet and any number of health concerns, but there has been some research to suggest that certain diets may come with a higher risk of tinnitus. High-fat diets, for instance, were associated with an increased risk of tinnitus. Even though they are healthy and vital for the human body in general, higher intakes of calcium and iron also saw the same association. It’s thought that this might be caused due to the effects of fat and other nutrients on the health of one’s blood vessels. Blood vessel health has long been linked to tinnitus, hearing loss and hearing health changes in general.

Otherwise, higher levels of vitamin B12 were associated with a lower risk of tinnitus. However, these findings are based solely on one study, that did not establish a clear link between any particular dietary habit and tinnitus.

Could Changing Your Diet Help with Tinnitus?

While there is a suggested link to some dietary habits and tinnitus, it’s not conclusive and you shouldn’t base your lifestyle choices on only a little evidence. That said, any change that is better for your heart health is certainly likely to be better for your hearing health, as well. Even if it doesn’t offer immediate relief, it could reduce the risk of developing hearing health issues down the line.

What some people do tend to do, with the help of their audiologist, is to keep a diary of potential triggers. If you find that your tinnitus gets worse some days or nights without any specific explanations, then keeping a diary of what foods you eat, what activities you do and what environments you spend your time in could help you find some triggers. You may discover that some foods are a kind of trigger your tinnitus.

Similarly, some people will take part in what are called elimination diets, where they stop eating certain kinds of foods for set periods of time, to see if they have any impact on their tinnitus. There’s no guarantee you will ever get a definitive answer, but you might be able to find some relief.

What Else Can You Do About Tinnitus?

If you want to learn more about what you can do to treat your tinnitus talk with your audiologist. They will suggest treatments like hearing aids, tinnitus retraining therapy or a tinnitus masking feature. Get in touch with them to start looking at your options.