You’re starving so you go to your fridge for a snack. How about a salty treat… how about crackers? Potato chips sound good! There’s a leftover slice of cheesecake that would be delicious.
Actually, maybe you should just have a banana. A banana is a healthier option after all.
When it comes to the human body, everything is connected. So maybe it’s not a big surprise that your diet can affect your ears. For example, too much sodium can increase blood pressure and could make tinnitus symptoms more pronounced. Research is verifying this notion, suggesting that what you eat could have a strong impact on the development of tinnitus.
Your diet and tinnitus
Research published in Ear and Hearing, the official publication of the American Auditory Society, observed a wide variety of people and took a close look at their diets. The data indicates that what you eat could increase or diminish your susceptibility to certain inner ear disorders, tinnitus among them. And, according to the research, a lack of vitamin B12, particularly, could increase your potential for getting tinnitus.
There were other nutrients besides B12 that were linked to tinnitus symptoms. Consuming too much calcium, iron, or fat could raise your chances of developing tinnitus too.
And there’s more. The researchers also noted that dietary patterns could also trigger tinnitus symptoms. For example, your risk of developing tinnitus will be decreased by a diet high in protein. Needless to say, low-fat diets that were high in fruits, vegetables, and meats also appeared pretty good for your ears.
Does this mean you need to change your diet?
Diet by itself isn’t likely to significantly change your hearing, and in fact, you’d most likely have to have a fairly significant deficiency for this to be the cause. Your hearing is much more likely to be affected by other factors, like exposure to loud noise. That said, you should attempt to keep a healthy diet for your overall health.
This research has revealed some practical and meaningful insights:
- Protecting your ears takes many strategies: The danger of tinnitus and other inner ear conditions can be decreased by eating a healthy diet, according to this research. That doesn’t mean you’re not still at risk. It simply means that your ears are a bit more robust. So if you want to lower the chance of tinnitus even further, you’ll have to take a comprehensive approach to safeguard your ears. This will frequently mean protecting your hearing from loud noise by using earplugs or earmuffs
- Quantities vary: Certainly, if you want to keep your ears healthy you need a certain amount of B12 in your diet. Going below that could increase your vulnerability to tinnitus. But getting more vitamin B12 isn’t necessarily going to make your ears healthier. Getting too little or too much of these nutrients could be detrimental to your hearing, so always talk with your doctor about any supplements you consume.
- Always get your hearing checked by a professional: Come in and get your hearing checked if you’re experiencing tinnitus or hearing loss. We will be able to help you figure out (and correctly manage) any hearing loss.
- Nutrients are essential: Your overall hearing health will be impacted by your diet. Clearly, your hearing will be helped by a balanced diet. So it isn’t difficult to see how problems like tinnitus can be an outcome of poor nutrition. And with individuals who are lacking the vital vitamins, minerals, and nutrients they need, this is particularly true.
Research is one thing, real life is another
And, lastly, it’s important to note that, while this research is exciting and fascinating, it’s not the last word on the subject. More research must be conducted on this subject to validate these results, or to improve them, or challenge them. How much of this connection is causal and how much is correlational is still something that needs to be established, for example.
So we’re not suggesting that tinnitus can be stopped by a B12 shot alone. 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 to take steps to protect your hearing and don’t forget about proven strategies.
If you’re experiencing tinnitus, give us a call. 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
