You walk into the kitchen and you find a bite to eat. Do you want something salty… how about crackers? Chips sound good! Hold up. Maybe this leftover piece of cheesecake.
Perhaps you should just opt for a banana on second thought. Of course, a banana is a much healthier option.
Everything is interconnected in the human body. So the fact that what you eat can affect your ears shouldn’t be surprising. If you consume a high sodium diet, for example, it can elevate your blood pressure and that can increase your tinnitus symptoms. Current research is indicating that diet can have a direct influence on the development of tinnitus symptoms.
Your diet and tinnitus
The official journal of the American Auditory Society, called Ear and Hearing, published a study that looked at the diets of a wide variety of people. The data indicates that your diet could increase or diminish your vulnerability to some inner ear disorders, tinnitus among them. And your chance of getting tinnitus increases, particularly when your diet is lacking vitamin B12.
There were nutrients other than B12 that were linked to tinnitus symptoms. Eating too much calcium, iron, or fat could raise your risk of getting tinnitus too.
And there’s more. This research also showed that tinnitus symptoms can also be influenced by dietary patterns. For example, your likelihood of developing tinnitus will be reduced by a diet high in protein. It also seemed that diets low in fat and high in fruits and veggies had a beneficial effect on your hearing.
So should you make a change to your diet?
You would need to have a seriously deficient diet in order for that to be the cause, so modifying your diet alone likely won’t have a significant effect. Your hearing is much more likely to be impacted by other things, such as exposure to loud sound. But your overall health depends on a healthy diet.
This research has discovered some practical and meaningful insights:
- Quantities vary: Certainly, if you want to keep your hearing healthy you need a certain amount of B12 in your diet. You will be more susceptible to tinnitus if you get less than this. But getting more vitamin B12 won’t necessarily make your ears healthier. Getting too little or too much of these nutrients could be damaging to your hearing, so always talk to your doctor about any supplements you consume.
- Get your hearing tested professionally: Come in and get your hearing checked if you’re experiencing hearing loss or tinnitus. We will help you determine what type and level of hearing loss you’re dealing with and how to best manage it.
- Nutrients are essential: Your diet is going to have an effect on your hearing health. It certainly seems as if an overall healthy diet will be good for your ears. But beyond that, we can definitely see how malnutrition can cause problems such as tinnitus. And with individuals who are lacking the vital vitamins, minerals, and nutrients they need, this is particularly true.
- Protecting your ears takes many approaches: The danger of tinnitus and other inner ear disorders can be reduced by eating a healthy diet, according to this research. But that doesn’t mean the entire risk has disappeared. It simply means that your ears are a bit more resilient. You’ll need a more comprehensive approach if you truly want to be protected from the chances of tinnitus. This might mean wearing earmuffs or earplugs to guarantee noise levels remain safe.
Real life doesn’t always echo the research
And, finally, it’s important to note that, while this research is exciting and interesting, it isn’t the last word on the topic. In order to validate and sharpen the scope of these conclusions, more research will still need to be done. We’re not sure, for instance, how much of this relationship is causal or correlational.
So we’re a long way from saying a vitamin B12 shot will prevent tinnitus. Keeping that ringing in your ears from surfacing from the start will probably mean taking a multi-faceted approach. One of those facets can certainly be diet. But it’s crucial that you don’t forget about tried and tested methods, and that you pay attention to safeguarding your hearing health as much as you can.
If you’re suffering from tinnitus, give us a call. We can help.
References
https://journals.lww.com/ear-hearing/Fulltext/2020/03000/Relationship_Between_Diet,_Tinnitus,_and_Hearing.8.aspx