Tinnitus

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Quoted message said:

Has anyone ever heard of nutrition affecting tinnitus?

Some, but not a lot.

IME and many others, salicylate rich foods exacerbate tinnitus. It's only
temporary, and, in my case, tolerable. It's akin to the aspirin hiss many get.

Some folks have a temporary elevation of T from wine or caffeine.

One study found that a very low calorie and low carb diet reduced tinnitus.
IME, the low calorie component wasn't necessary, but low carb reduced my T to
almost gone, though diet isn't the only thing I've used.

The onset and causes of T are so varied, that one particular intervention isn't
likely to help in all cases. My own is caused by chronic CNS infection by tick
borne diseases, for example, and high dose antibiotics helped a lot.

Some other folks have reported improvements with lowering salicylates and /or
carbs or both.

Not much good evidence from trials for any supplements. Some folks report
benefits from ginkgo biloba, but this effect doesn't really emerge in
controlled studies.

Abstracts:

Zinc deficiency and tinnitus

Kentaro Ochi , Hirotsugu Kinoshita, Mutsumi Kenmochi, Hirohito Nishino
and Toru Ohashi Department of Otolaryngology, St. Marianna University
School of Medicine, 2-16-1, Sugao, Miyamae-ku, Kawasaki 216-8511, Japan

Abstract
Objective: To determine if there is a correlation between serum zinc
levels and audiometric performance in tinnitus patients.

Methods: Seventy-three patients participated in this study. Patient's
age was restricted to 20–59 years. All patients were examined at the
otolaryngology outpatient clinic of the St. Marianna University Toyoko
Hospital. The control group consisted of 38 age- and sex-matched healthy
volunteers. A blood sample was taken to measure serum zinc levels.
Hypozincemia was set at a level of the mean minus one S.D. in the
control group. An average hearing sensitivity was calculated as the mean
value of hearing thresholds at five frequencies: 250, 500, 1000, 2000,
and 4000 Hz. Normal hearing was indicated when the hearing threshold at
each of these frequencies was within 20 dB of normal thresholds.

Results: There was no significant difference in serum zinc levels
between patients with tinnitus and controls.
However, patients with tinnitus who had normal hearing had significantly
lower serum zinc levels compared to controls.
In contrast, no significant difference in serum zinc levels was found
between patients with tinnitus who had hearing loss, and controls.

A significant correlation between average hearing sensitivity and serum
zinc level was observed.

Conclusions: These findings suggest that zinc is involved in the
generation of tinnitus, especially in patients whose hearing is
relatively normal.

Ear Nose Throat J 1997 Oct;76(10):716-20, 725-6, 728 passim Related Articles,
Books, LinkOut

Published erratum appears in Ear Nose Throat J 1998 Feb;77(2):145

Progressive sensorineural hearing loss, subjective tinnitus and vertigo caused
by elevated blood lipids.

Pulec JL, Pulec MB, Mendoza I

Pulec Ear Clinic and Ear International, Los Angeles, California, USA.

The otologist frequently sees patients with progressive sensorineural hearing
loss, subjective aural tinnitus and vertigo with no apparent cause. Elevated
blood lipids may be a cause of inner ear malfunction on a biochemical basis. To
establish the true incidence of this condition, all new patients (4,251) seen
during an eight-year period were evaluated; of these, 2,332 patients had
complaints of inner ear disease. All had a complete neurotologic examination,
appropriate audiometric and vestibular studies and imaging, and blood tests
including lipid phenotype studies. Hyperlipoproteinemia was found in 120
patients (5.1%). Most patients were found to be overweight and had additional
coexisting conditions such as diabetes mellitus. Treatment with vasodilators
and a 500-calorie, high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet yielded improvement of
symptoms in 83% of patients within five months of initiation of treatment.

Comments:
Comment in: Ear Nose Throat J 1998 Feb;77(2):145
Comment in: Ear Nose Throat J 1998 Mar;77(3):224

PMID: 9345815, UI: 98005748

Otolaryngol Pol. 2002;56(1):57-62. Related Articles, Links

[Hyperinsulinemia in vertigo, tinnitus and hearing loss]

[Article in Polish]

Doroszewska G, Kazmierczak H.

Katedra i Klinika Otolaryngologii Akademii Medycznej w Bydgoszczy.

48 patients (25 woman, mean age 42 +/- 9.9 years and 23 men, mean age 46.6 +/-
8.3 years) suffering from vertigo, tinnitus and hearing loss of unknown origin
were included into this study. The occurrence and coexistence of symptoms was
measured. Insulin levels were measured fasting and at the second hour of OGTT.
Results were compared with the control group of 31 healthy persons (16 women,
mean age 41.3 +/- 5.6 years and 15 men, mean age 47.6 +/- 9.4 years). The
character of vertigo, localization of hearing loss and electronystagmographic
findings showed the pathology of the inner ear. The occurrence of
hyperinsulinemia was significantly more common in the patients group--43.8%,
comparing to the control group--22.6%. Also the insulin levels in the second
hour of OGTT, were statistically significantly higher in patients that in the
control group.

PMID: 12053670 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Susan

Susan