You’re feeling hungry so you look in your fridge for a snack. Will it be something salty… maybe some crackers? Chips sound good! There’s a leftover piece of cheesecake that would be delightful.
On second thought, maybe you should just have a banana. A banana is a healthier option after all.
Everything is interconnected in the human body. So maybe it’s not a big surprise that what you eat can impact your ears. If you consume a diet high in sodium, for example, it can raise your blood pressure and that can escalate your tinnitus symptoms. Recent research is suggesting that diet can have a strong impact on the development of tinnitus.
Tinnitus and your diet
The official journal of the American Auditory Society, called Ear and Hearing, published research that looked at the diets of a wide variety of people. The data suggests that your diet could increase or diminish your vulnerability to some inner ear conditions, tinnitus among them. And, based on the research, a deficiency of vitamin B12, particularly, could increase your potential for developing tinnitus.
Vitamin B12 wasn’t the only nutrient that was associated with tinnitus symptoms. Your risk of getting tinnitus also increases if your diet is too rich in fat, calcium, and iron.
And there’s more. This research also revealed that tinnitus symptoms can also be influenced by dietary patterns. For instance, your likelihood of developing tinnitus will be decreased by a diet high in protein. It also seemed that diets low in fat and high in fruits and veggies had a positive impact on your hearing.
Does this suggest you should change your diet?
You would have to have an extremely deficient diet in order for that to be the cause, so modifying your diet alone probably won’t have a substantial impact. Other issues, like exposure to loud noise, are far more likely to impact your hearing. That said, you should attempt to keep a healthy diet for your overall health.
This research has discovered some practical and meaningful insights:
- Nutrients are essential: Your total hearing health is going to be impacted by your diet. Obviously, your hearing will be helped by a healthy diet. So it’s not difficult to see how issues such as tinnitus can be an outcome of poor nutrition. This can be especially important to take note of when people aren’t getting the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals that they need.
- Always get your hearing checked by a professional: If you’re suffering from hearing loss or tinnitus, have your hearing examined. We can help you determine what type and level of hearing loss you’re coping with and how to best address it.
- Quantities vary: Sure, you require a certain amount of vitamin B12 (for example) to keep your hearing healthy. Getting less than that could increase your susceptibility to tinnitus. But your ears won’t necessarily be healthy just because you get enough B12. Always speak with your doctor about any supplements you take because getting too little or too much of these nutrients can be unhealthy.
- Safeguarding your ears takes many approaches: Based on this study, eating a good diet can help lower your vulnerability to tinnitus and other inner ear conditions. That doesn’t mean you’re not still at risk. It simply gives you better odds of avoiding ear conditions. You’ll need a more extensive approach if you really want to be protected from the risk of tinnitus. This may mean wearing earmuffs or earplugs to make sure volume levels stay safe.
Research is one thing, actual life is another
While this is exciting research, it’s important to note that there’s more to be said on the subject. More research must be conducted on this subject to verify these findings, or to refine them, or challenge them. How much of this connection is causal and how much is correlational is still something that needs to be identified, for example.
So we’re a long way from saying a vitamin B12 shot will prevent tinnitus. It could mean using a multi-faceted strategy in order to avoid tinnitus in the first place. Diet can be one of those prongs, sure (eat that banana). But it’s crucial to take steps to protect your hearing and don’t forget about established strategies.
If you’re experiencing tinnitus, contact us. We can help.
References
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/tinnitus/symptoms-causes
https://journals.lww.com/ear-hearing/Fulltext/2020/03000/Relationship_Between_Diet,_Tinnitus,_and_Hearing.8.aspx
