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The American Tinnitus Association states that there is no tinnitus cure at this time, but does acknowledge that there are many ways to manage it. Here are some common foods and food additives that are known to increase tinnitus symptoms. Just avoiding these four things from your diet could bring you partial or even total tinnitus relief.
Too much salt restricts blood vessels, increases blood pressure and reduces blood flow into the ears. Increased blood pressure is directly linked to increased tinnitus. When salt intake is reduced, many people notice a lessening of ringing in the ears.
Salt is necessary for life, but the modern diet contains way too much salt. It is hidden in most processed and pre-packaged foods. And some seemingly healthy food can hold a sodium surprise. A serving a canned soup can have more salt than a bag of potato chips! You should start reading labels to intelligently limit your salt intake.
The next food to avoid is to stop tinnitus is sugar. Here is a simplified version of what happens when you eat sugar. First your blood sugar rises, then it falls. When it falls the temporary lack of glucose to the ears can eventually cause tinnitus. Sugar can also cause tinnitus by causing adrenalin release, which causes vasoconstriction in the inner ear. Too much caffeine can have the same effect.
But don't switch to artificial sweeteners instead. They can be even worse for tinnitus and your general health than sugar! One of the worst is aspartame which is found in many diet foods including diet soda. Aspartame goes by the name NutraSweet. Also known as the "blue stuff".
Aspartame causes damage to the nervous system and can cause tinnitus. So you need to stop your diet soda habit if you want to stop tinnitus.
Did you know that artificial sweeteners have been shown not to help people lose weight anyway? They actually make you crave sweets and carbohydrates even more! Try a non-caloric natural sweetener, stevia, instead. It can be found in most grocery stores. If not, try your local health food store.
The last thing to avoid for tinnitus relief is a flavor enhancer called Monosodium Glutamate known as MSG. It breaks down to glutamate in the body which acts similarly to aspartame. Glutamate, like aspartame, is an excitatory neuro-transmitter which can cause tinnitus.
MSG is hidden in hydrolyzed vegetable protein, vegetable or plant protein, natural flavoring, spices and more. And it doesn't have to be added to the label as an ingredient. This is another reason to avoid processed and pre-packaged food as much as possible for your general health and for tinnitus relief.
When you hear MSG, you may think of Chinese food. There actually is a "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome" where some people developed headaches, sweating, and flushing of the face because of the high amounts of MSG often used at Chinese restaurants.
So if you are searching for answers on how to cure tinnitus, reducing or eliminating these four culprits is a great place to start.
