Does Diet Affect Tinnitus?

Some people are convinced that their diet can affect their tinnitus. If you eat this, you will hear that annoying ringing in your ears. If you avoid that, your tinnitus will go away. While people have reported that dietary choices can change tinnitus symptoms, there is not really any evidence to back up that claim. 

Tinnitus is a condition when a person hears a ringing, buzzing, humming, or another irritating noise where there is no external source. Many people think that it is caused by hearing loss, but this is not always the case. There are many different kinds of treatments and therapies to ease tinnitus, including sound therapy, but some people believe that changing their diet is treatment enough.

Do Certain Foods Cause Tinnitus?

There is very little evidence that connects certain foods and diets to tinnitus. The evidence that does support this is pretty weak, and shows that there are stronger connections between tinnitus and noise exposure and tinnitus and age.

However, there is evidence that shows an association between persistent tinnitus and a couple of dietary choices. According to a 2014 study, some of these dietary choices include avoiding dairy products, increased consumption of fruits and vegetables, and increased consumption of bread, specifically wholegrain bread. They also found that people who ate more fish and less eggs were less likely to experience persistent tinnitus.

Can Specific Foods Aggravate Tinnitus?

While certain foods have become known for worsening tinnitus, there is no strong evidence that any foods aggravate the condition. Caffeine and alcohol are said to exacerbate tinnitus, but there is not any evidence to actually support these claims. The other food that has a reputation for worsening tinnitus is salt. While there is no connection between just tinnitus and salt, there is a connection between salt and Ménière’s disease. This disease is a chronic inner ear disorder that causes hearing loss, tinnitus, and a spinning feeling.

Managing Your Tinnitus and Diet

One way to tell if your tinnitus is aggravated or eased by your diet is by starting a symptom tracker. By noting what you have eaten and the symptoms you experienced on a certain day, you can start to see patterns between bad tinnitus days and the foods you ate on those days. You should also consider ranking your tinnitus based on severity, with 1 being a mild tinnitus day and 10 being a severe tinnitus day for example. 

If you conclude your diet does not impact your tinnitus but still want to pursue treatment, you have a couple of options. Try reducing stress levels. Stress can intensify your tinnitus, so reducing or better managing your stress may ease your tinnitus. Also, consider wearing ear protection if you go to lots of concerts or work in a loud environment. Noise exposure can cause tinnitus, so protecting yourself is a great measure to prevent your tinnitus from worsening. You can also try sound therapy. Our app, SoundRelief, offers sound therapy that you can listen to for 5 to 60 minutes a day to help alleviate tinnitus symptoms. The app also features a daily diary to monitor your tinnitus, and a monthly tracker to get a bigger picture of your tinnitus. If you want to track your diet and symptoms, these tools make it easy and convenient to do so.

While there is no evidence directly connecting diet changes to tinnitus symptoms, it can’t hurt to try adjusting your diet if you really believe it is affecting your symptoms. Consider using a symptom tracker as you adjust your diet, and maybe combine diet changes with other tinnitus treatments like sound therapy. SoundRelief, our sound therapy app for tinnitus, is a great place to start. You can receive treatment for your tinnitus, as well as access a daily journal and monthly tracker to monitor your symptoms and diet.