If you have the persistent tone in your ears known as tinnitus, you’ll want to pay attention to a new study that shows a link between certain foods and a reduction in risk. The finding offers a potentially easy way to get some peace and quiet.
According to the National Institutes of Health, about 14% of adults have experienced tinnitus at one point in their lives with 10% of them experiencing chronic tinnitus lasting more than three months. The condition’s hallmark is a sound in one or both of your ears that’s not present in the world around you. That sound could be anything from a high-pitched tone to a low roar, or from a steady hiss to an annoying clicking – or even the whooshing sound of your own blood pumping in your body.
The theorized causes of tinnitus are almost as varied as the sounds people hear, ranging from hearing loss or an ear infection to side effects from medication, high blood pressure, or autoimmune disorders. Some scientists believe the sounds accompanying the condition could be generated in the brain’s auditory cortex, while others postulate that the aggravating tones are due to the damage of tiny hairs in your ear.
Because the causes of tinnitus can vary so greatly, there have been a wide range of proposed cures. Researchers have seen success with a multi-pronged approach using an app; a bi-sensory treatment using sound and touch; cognitive behavioral therapy; and a device that delivers electrical impulses to the brain.
Now, researchers from the Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in China have conducted a meta-analysis that’s added another potential treatment to the tinnitus toolbox: diet.
The team there looked at eight observational studies involving over 300,000 people who reported on their health and their diets and looked for a link between tinnitus and nutrition.
“To date, there has not been a comprehensive examination through systematic reviews or meta-analyses regarding the link between typical dietary patterns and tinnitus,” write the researchers. “Our objective was to systematically explore this association while accounting for potential confounding variables. This study aimed to provide clinical evidence to inform the development of dietary prevention approaches for tinnitus.”
What they found was that fruit, fiber, dairy, and caffeine consumption all had the ability to lessen the risk of developing tinnitus. Specifically, higher fruit intake was linked to a 35% reduction in tinnitus risk; intake of dairy products with a 17% reduction in risk; caffeine with a 10% reduction; and dietary fiber with a 9% reduction.
The researchers point out that as in many meta-analyses, while the link between these foods and tinnitus risk has been found, it can not be assumed that there is a causal relationship. However they do believe that findings make sense, as nutrition can obviously play a role in the cause or abatement of many diseases. In this case, while they’re not sure why these particular foods were shown to have an impact, they believe it might have something to do with the effects they have on blood vessels and nerves as well as their overall antioxidant effects.
“Diet-based strategies for tinnitus prevention are anticipated to play a significant role in chronic tinnitus management,” conclude the researchers. “In the future, further well-designed, large-scale, cross-population cohort studies are warranted to complement and verify the relationship between dietary intake and tinnitus. Additionally, focusing on the dosage and categorization of each dietary intake would provide valuable insights.”
Their findings have been published in the open-access journal BMJ Open.