Foods To Avoid With Tinnitus

A quick point before we start, I am not a doctor and do not claim to be. Any special diet requirements you have you should take up with your dietician or medical professional. The foods I talk about here are foods that I find beneficial to me to avoid. My name is John and I suffered with tinnitus for ten years. Over this time I have found what works and what does not with helping tinnitus. My website was setup to help those who suffer with a series of self help guides.

We are all getting to told to watch our diets these days, so we should pay some attention to those foods and drinks that will affect your tinnitus. Some of these you will be familiar with some you may not. The idea of this guide is exactly what it is – a guide. Just because I say for example Salt is a food to avoid, that doesn’t mean totally avoid it. That would be near on impossible given today’s foods. I am a firm believer of the statement ‘Everything in Moderation’.

I remember myself one day eating a bag of chips from the ‘chippy’ – those of you who are from the UK will know what I mean. Anyway, the guy behind the counter did not ask me if I wanted salt but instead just loaded them up with salt. Anyway, I was running late so I just took them. About half way through eating them, my tinnitus on my right side went up through the roof! It became so unbearable I could not hear anything from that side, to make things worse this then led to a huge vertigo attack and I was wiped out for about two hours on my bed. (Luckily I was near home at the time).

Salt

So, based on my story above salt should not be consumed in large quantities. Too much salt can restrict the blood vessels and lead to high blood pressure which in turn reduces blood flow going into the ears. An increase in blood pressure has been linked to tinnitus, which is why it is important to avoid salty foods when you can.

Sugar

So, surprise surprise then, if we can’t eat too much salt I guess we can’t eat its sweet brother. Correct, unfortunately sugar is another thing tinnitus sufferers should try to avoid. When you consume sugar, the blood sugar level in your body quickly rises and then falls. It’s at the falling point that can cause tinnitus to increase. Adrenaline production in the body has also been linked to tinnitus.

Artificial Sweeteners

Big one this, artificial sweeteners are very bad for tinnitus. You may think, well if I can’t have sugar in my coffee then I will just use artificial sweeteners. You really should try to not have any. Artificial sweeteners are bad for your overall health as well as tinnitus, which is precisely why they should be avoided at all costs. Aspartame, also known as “NutraSweet”, can damage the nervous system and cause problems with tinnitus over time.

Caffeine

Not looking good this is it? First, sugar and now caffeine! This really is one for the ‘Everything in Moderation’ category. I have completely swapped to decaffeinated tea now but for a long time I still drank caffeinated tea, I just cut down. After a while the decaffeinated stuff really does not taste too bad. Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant which over long periods of time can destroy nerve cells in the inner ear, causing tinnitus and hearing loss.

Alcohol

Alcohol increases the force of your blood by dilating your blood vessels, which causes greater blood flow, especially in the ears. Drinking too much alcohol can increase your blood pressure, which increases your chances for developing tinnitus.

MSG

This could be the worst of the lot in the long run. Known as Monosodium Glutamate, it is a food ingredient that even the Food and Drug Administration only declare as “generally recognized as safe”. MSG is a flavor enhancer used in many foods; Chinese food, canned vegetables, soups and processed meats just for example. Basically, it is a type of sodium and has the same effect as salt which can affect the inner ear. Tinnitus sufferers should check for Monosodium Glutamate on food packaging in you are concerned about this.

So, there you have it. A list of some of the foods you should avoid if you have tinnitus. I know it is a pain to try and give stuff up that you are used to, but it really will make a difference. You have to weigh it up, how bad is your tinnitus to make you want to change it? I know that when mine was at its worst I would have done anything to improve things – so if that meant switching to decaffeinated coffee and tea then I would do it.

I am also much more wary of what I eat, especially with salt and MSG. Sure I still have the odd Chinese and the odd beer or two but not half as many. You can do it. “Everything in Moderation”

You can find more information and self help guides on tinnitus on my website relieffortinnitus.net where I am giving away for FREE a complete step by step guide on the methods I used to enable me to no longer suffer from Tinnitus.