More than 50 million Americans are plagued by tinnitus – and experts have warned that cases are surging.
This debilitating condition causes a constant ringing or buzzing in the ears, leaving patients unable to focus on work, study or even sleep.
There are a range of known causes, such as hearing loss, stress, ear injuries and blood vessel disorders.
But now a major new study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology has concluded that diet may also play a key role in who develops the condition.
Scientists at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, tracked the diets of more than 113,500 women over nearly 50 years via a long-running research project known as the Nurses’ Health Study.
The research included two cohorts: One group of around 42,500 women who were tracked from 1984 to 2022, and another of roughly 71,000 women, monitored between 1991 and 2021.
By the end of the study, nearly 22,900 women in the study had developed tinnitus – and scientists discovered that higher fruit intake was associated with reduced risk, while grains, legumes and sugar-sweetened beverages, such as soda and fruit juice, were associated with greater risk.
Researchers in Boston are warning that certain foods may raise someone’s risk of developing tinnitus (stock image)
The report showed that those who consumed a diet high in grains such as wheat, rice, oats and corn, had a 26 percent higher risk of developing the condition.
Those with diets high in legumes, such as beans, lentils and peas, had a 13 percent higher risk, and those who regularly consumed sugar-sweetened beverages had a 12 percent higher risk.
At the other end of the scale, a diet high in fruit was linked to a 19 percent lower risk of developing tinnitus.
Those with diets high in low-fat dairy were found to have a six percent lower risk, while those who ate more salt were found to have a 10 percent lower risk.
There was no significant association between the risk of tinnitus and consumption of vegetables, meat or nuts.
The study was observational and did not definitively prove that eating certain foods was actually causing tinnitus or impacting the risk of the condition.
The researchers also urged people to keep eating legumes and grains as they are an essential part of a balanced diet and a major source of energy and nutrients.
Scientists have also previously advised people to watch their salt intake as it can cause high blood pressure that raises the risk of dementia, heart disease and other conditions. Americans are advised to consume no more than 2,300mg of salt, equivalent to one teaspoon, per day.
Still, the authors added that their study suggested diet may play a role in whether someone develops tinnitus, which could in turn help people avoid it.
‘This study provides compelling evidence that dietary intake can influence the development of persistent tinnitus,’ the team, led by epidemiologist Dr Sharon Curhan, wrote in the paper.
Tinnitus affects about 50 million adults in the US, according to estimates (stock image)
They emphasized that they ‘do not recommend avoidance’ of the foods listed that are part of a healthy diet.
It was not clear exactly how diet may raise the risk of tinnitus. But when it comes to foods such as legumes and grains, the researchers warned they could reduce absorption of essential nutrients for nerves from the gut.
Over time, they said, this may influence age-related neurodegeneration, which could cause a breakdown of mental systems in the brain that typically work to prevent the tinnitus noise.
The study monitored dietary intake through a questionnaire once every four years – which asked participants whether they had consumed 130 food items, including specific fruits, vegetables and meats.
Participants were asked to report their average intake over the previous year on a scale of nine possible answers including ‘never,’ ‘less than once a month’ and ‘six or more a day.’
By specific food type, the researchers found that those who consumed two or more servings of whole grain cereal or oats per week had an increased risk of up to 12 percent.
Subjects who ate two or more servings of beans or lentils per week showed a 10 percent higher risk of the disease, while those who consumed two or more servings of soy milk were 18 percent more likely to develop it.
Symptoms of tinnitus can include a whooshing sound of the heartbeat, a pulse in the ears, a high-pitched ringing noise and the bizarre sound of the eyeballs moving side to side or up and down (stock image)
When it comes to potentially keeping tinnitus at bay, the study found those who ate three to six servings of citrus fruits per week had a 10 percent lower risk of developing disease.
Apples and pears were also in this group, as subjects who consumed these three to six times per week showed up to an 11 percent lower risk.
‘This is a really interesting paper, but definitely one to interpret carefully,’ Dr Yovina Khiroya-Morjaria, an audiologist in the UK who reviewed, but was not involved with, the study, told the Daily Mail.
‘I think the main takeaway is definitely not to cut foods out… but to aim for a balanced diet that supports overall brain health rather than focus on individual foods.
‘The main things in a scientific study are sample size – the bigger the sample, the more the general public can apply – and a [long follow-up]. This study has these.’
Khiroya-Morjaria noted that this research was still in the very early stages, and that more work was needed.
Currently she advises patients with tinnitus to try to avoid caffeine, alcohol and sugar, which are all stimulants that can disrupt the normal brain cycle.
Dr Allen Rohe, an audiologist in Arizona who battled tinnitus himself, told Daily Mail that the paper had left him with ‘more questions than answers’.
He said: ‘For years, we have clearly seen a link between diet and tinnitus. Things like caffeine and alcohol, as they are synthesized throughout the body, can exacerbate tinnitus for some people.
‘I have always advocated our patients pursue a Mediterranean-style diet, known for its anti-inflammatory properties.’
