Eat This And Cut Your Risk Of Tinnitus

What if the key to preventing that persistent, maddening ringing in your ears could be found on your dinner plate?

While scientists work on revolutionary cures for this life-disrupting condition, Harvard researchers report that a simple tweak to your diet could provide powerful protection. Read on to see which foods could be the unsung heroes your ears have been waiting for.

Key Takeaways

• Consuming two to four servings of seafood weekly reduces tinnitus risk by 23%, with shrimp, tuna, and shellfish offering the greatest benefits.
• Fish is a nutrient powerhouse, rich in omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals, which benefit overall health, hearing, and longevity.
• Promising advancements in nerve fiber regeneration may lead to a potential cure for tinnitus.

Diet and Tinnitus Are Linked

About 50 million U.S. adults suffer from tinnitus, among whom three million are severely disabled by it. Persistent ringing, buzzing, or hissing in the ears or head can disrupt sleep, impair concentration, hamper work and daily function, and reduce the quality of life.

If hearing loss accompanies tinnitus, hearing aids can boost hearing and make the phantom sounds less obvious. Other strategies include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and masking sound therapy, which retrain how the brain interprets tinnitus.

Unlike so many other conditions, the role of diet in tinnitus has barely been explored. Researchers published the first population study seeking a connection between the two only a decade ago, finding a lower likelihood of tinnitus in British consumers of fish.

Another trial was long overdue, so researchers from Harvard stepped up to the plate. They wanted to see if seafood can help Americans reduce their risk of tinnitus.

Two Servings A Week Lower Risk By 23 Percent

Seafood is already linked with a lower risk of hearing loss, which accompanies tinnitus in most cases, and although the 2014 British study found a lower likelihood of developing tinnitus with fish consumption, the researchers didn’t use a validated food questionnaire. It only included a relatively small set of food questions and wasn’t able to adjust the findings to account for overall food intake.

So, the Harvard team carried out a more reliable analysis by following 73,482 female nurses who provided a rich source of demographic, health, diet, and lifestyle information. The researchers assessed study participants every four years for 30 years using a validated food frequency questionnaire containing highly detailed information on dietary intake. During that time, 9,362 participants succumbed to persistent tinnitus. After adjusting for a wide range of potential confounders, the results showed that compared with participants who never or rarely consumed seafood, the risk of developing persistent tinnitus was:

• 13% lower with one serving a week
• 23% lower with two to four servings a week
• 21% lower with five or more servings a week

Compared with participants who never or rarely consumed specific types of fish, the risk of developing persistent tinnitus with one or more servings a week was:

• 18% lower for shellfish
• 16% lower for canned tuna
• 9% lower for light-meat fish (e.g., plaice, haddock, halibut)
• 9% higher for dark-meat fish (e.g., mackerel, salmon, sardines, bluefish, swordfish)
• 12% higher for those using fish oil supplements

Fish Offers Tremendous Health Benefits

Sharon Curhan, the first author of the study published by The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, told The Hearing Review that “fish is an important contributor to an overall healthy diet and [there are] tremendous benefits to health, longevity, vitality, and quality of life that a healthy diet can provide.

“[Fish] are the major sources of long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and are rich in vitamin D, several B vitamins, folic acid, and minerals such as selenium, iron, zinc, iodine, magnesium, and potassium, high in protein and low in saturated fat.”

Dr. Curham didn’t say why dark-meat fish, which contain oils, would pose a problem, but this could be because they are more likely to store pollutants and heavy metals detrimental to human health. Dr. Curham did, however, address over-the-counter fish oil supplements, saying that they can be low in quality and contain impurities and contaminants. That’s why it’s important to choose a trustworthy brand when choosing supplements containing fish oil.

Meanwhile, recent developments provide hope for much-improved treatments – possibly even a cure in the future.

Nerve Fibers Can Be Regrown

Researchers at the University of Michigan have developed a novel bi-sensory tinnitus treatment using sounds and electrical pulses.A similar product developed in Ireland called Lenire has shown consistent positive outcomes in reducing tinnitus symptoms. This at-home treatment is now approved by the FDA.

And perhaps even better is a strategy to heal the ear’s cochlear nerve fibers. Some now believe damage to these fibers to be the underlying cause of tinnitus rather than damage to cells with tiny hairs, which was the previous understanding. Repairing or replacing these hairs would be insurmountable, but nerve fibers can be regrown with natural signaling molecules called neurotrophins. This means treatments in development could silence tinnitus completely.

One doctor who believes this is Stéphane Maison, Associate Professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Harvard Medical School, who said: “For the first time, we’re talking about a possible cure.”

Summary

Tinnitus, characterized by persistent ringing or buzzing in the ears, affects millions worldwide and significantly impacts quality of life. New research from Harvard reveals that eating seafood, particularly shrimp and tuna, may lower the risk of developing tinnitus by up to 23%. Rich in omega-3 fatty acids and other nutrients, seafood is linked to reduced hearing loss, which often accompanies tinnitus. While potential cures for tinnitus are on the horizon, such as nerve fiber regeneration, dietary strategies offer an accessible and immediate way to protect your hearing.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is tinnitus, and how does it affect people? Tinnitus is a condition characterized by persistent ringing or buzzing in the ears, impacting sleep, focus, and quality of life.
• How does seafood help reduce tinnitus risk? Seafood is rich in omega-3 fatty acids and other nutrients that support hearing and brain health, lowering tinnitus risk by up to 23%.
• Which seafood types are most effective against tinnitus? Shrimp, canned tuna, and shellfish provide the most protection, according to the research.
• Why might dark-meat fish increase tinnitus risk? Dark-meat fish may store pollutants and heavy metals that could negatively impact hearing health.
• What are scientists doing to find a cure for tinnitus? Researchers are developing treatments like nerve fiber regeneration and bi-sensory therapies to address the root causes of tinnitus.