Tinnitus
natural treatment, vitamins, herbs, and supplements (ringing
in the ears)
by Ray Sahelian, M.D.
October 12 2016
Tinnitus is a perception of sound in the absence of an acoustic stimulus. The sound may be a buzzing, ringing, roaring, whistling, or hissing, or it may involve more complex sounds that vary over time. Tinnitus may be intermittent, continuous, or pulsatile (synchronous with the heartbeat). An associated hearing loss is usually present. Unfortunately this stubborn condition is often difficult to treat effectively.
Lancet Neurol. 2013 Sep. Tinnitus: causes and clinical management. Tinnitus is the perception of sound in the absence of a corresponding external acoustic stimulus. With prevalence ranging from 10% to 15%, it is a common disorder. Many people habituate to the phantom sound, but it severely impairs quality of life of about 1-2% of all people. Tinnitus has traditionally been regarded as an otological disorder, but advances in neuroimaging methods and development of animal models have increasingly shifted the perspective towards its neuronal correlates. Increased neuronal firing rate, enhanced neuronal synchrony, and changes in the tonotopic organisation are recorded in central auditory pathways in reaction to deprived auditory input and represent--together with changes in non-auditory brain areas--the neuronal correlate of tinnitus. Assessment of patients includes a detailed case history, measurement of hearing function, quantification of severity, and identification of causal factors, associated symptoms, and comorbidities. Most widely used treatments involve counselling, and best evidence is available for cognitive behavioural therapy. New pathophysiological insights have prompted the development of innovative brain-based treatment approaches to directly target the neuronal correlates.
Cause of tinnitus
The mechanisms that cause tinnitus are obscure. Risk factors include aging,
significant noise exposure, drug therapy (e.g. aminoglycosides, NSAIDs,
diuretics), or disorders of the outer, middle or inner ear or auditory nerve
(e.g. ear wax, infections, vestibular schwannoma, otosclerosis). It may be due
to excessive spontaneous activity in the auditory system and brain; if the
signal (normally suppressed by the subconscious) becomes noticed it becomes more
intrusive and annoying in a vicious cycle. It may occur as a symptom of
nearly all ear disorders, including:
Obstruction of the ear canal by wax or a foreign body,
Infections (external otitis, myringitis, otitis media, labyrinthitis,
meningitis),
Eustachian tube obstruction,
Loud music exposure, and it becomes worse over time if the exposure continues.
One in five high schoolers has permanent ringing in the ears, and few take
measures to protect their ears from loud music.
Caffeine ingestion could make it worse.
Braz J Otorhinolaryngol. 2014. Effects of the reduction
of caffeine consumption on tinnitus perception. For many years, excessive
caffeine consumption has been touted as an aggravating factor for tinnitus. The
pathophysiology behind this effect is probably related to the blockage of
adenosine receptors by the action of caffeine on the central nervous system.
Patients under 60 years of age with bilateral tinnitus and daily coffee
consumption between 150 and 300 ml are prone to benefit from consumption
reduction.
Otosclerosis
Middle ear tumors
Meniere's disease
Ototoxicity (often drug induced due to aspirin, quinine and its synthetic analogs, aminoglycoside
antibiotics, certain diuretics, carbon monoxide, heavy metals, alcohol).
Email received 2013 - I took Wellbutrin drug for a few months and the
very faint tinnitus I had increased a lot. That was 3 years ago and it's still
increased. I now take Zoloft or Cymbalta which doesn't seem to bother me that
way. The tinnitus is unusual in that I can have 3 days off and 3 days on. It's
like this most of the time with variation, for instance if I take a drug it can
keep the tinnitus going on for a week or two without the 3 days off. I'm
considering taking Sam-e or 5 HTP because I don't want to be on prescription
meds for this anymore. I have to be careful as some meds will aggravate the
condition, it usually goes back down after I stop them. Too bad it didn't go
back down after I quit the Wellbutrin!
Cardiovascular
diseases (hypertension, arteriosclerosis, aneurysms)
Medical conditions such as anemia and hypothyroidism
Hereditary sensorineural or noise-induced hearing loss
Acoustic trauma (blast injury), and head
trauma all are possible causes of tinnitus.
You may also visit the vertigo
page for additional information since some people who have tinnitus also have
vertigo.
The U.S. National Library of
Medicine says possible causes of tinnitus include:
Having an ear infection.
Having an object or wax build-up in the ear.
Having damage to the ear from exposure to loud noise.
Having an inner-ear condition called Meniere's disease, which affects balance
and hearing.
Consuming alcohol, caffeine or medication such as aspirin or certain
antibiotics.
Natural treatment for tinnitus
Melatonin
Ghana Med J. 2012. The role of plasma
melatonin and vitamins C
and B12 in the development of idiopathic tinnitus in the elderly. Departments of
Otorhinolaryngology, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. To determine the
correlation between plasma levels of melatonin, vitamin C and vitamin B12 and
the presence of tinnitus among elderly subjects with unexplained subjective
tinnitus. Comparing the plasma levels of the markers between elderly with and
those without tinnitus, the plasma levels of melatonin and vitamin B12 were
significantly lower among the elderly with tinnitus compared to those without,
while the difference in the plasma level of vitamin C was not. Low plasma
melatonin and vitamin B12 have significant correlation with the development of
subjective idiopathic tinnitus among the elderly.
Pine bark extract
may be an option to try at a dose of about 30 to 50 mg twice daily.
Since the serotonergic system is involved, 5-HTP may be tried for a couple of
weeks to see if it provides tinnitus relief.
Acupuncture has mostly not been demonstrated to be efficacious as a treatment for tinnitus on the
evidence of rigorous randomized controlled trials. However, a few studies have
shown some mild benefit.
Rehmannia is a Chinese
herb to consider.
Protective effect of Rehmannia glutinosa on the
cisplatin-induced damage of HEI-OC1 auditory cells through scavenging free
radicals.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2006. Department of
Food and Nutrition, Kunsan National University, Kunsan, South Korea.
The steamed root of Rehmannia glutinosa has been used in traditional Oriental
Medicine for treatment of inner ear diseases, such as tinnitus and hearing loss.
In the present study, we showed that the ethanol extract of steamed roots of
rehmannia glutinosa protected HEI-OC1 auditory cells from cisplatin cytotoxicity
in a dose-dependent fashion. These results indicate that rehmannia glutinosa
protects cisplatin-induced HEI-OC1 cell damage through inhibition of lipid
peroxidation and scavenging activities of free radials.
CoQ10 may be beneficial in
patients with tinnitus with low
CoQ10 levels.
A pilot clinical trial of the effects of coenzyme Q10
on chronic tinnitus aurium.
Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2007.
To determine the effects of coenzyme Q10 for 16 week period on the antioxidative status and tinnitus expression in patients with chronic tinnitus
aurium. In a subgroup of 7 patients with low initial plasma CoQ10 concentration
and significant increase in the plasma CoQ10 level, a clear decrease in the
tinnitus score was observed. In patients with a low plasma CoQ10
concentration, CoQ10 supply may decrease the tinnitus expression.
Taurine amino acid has been studied in animals.
Vitamin B12
Noise Health. 2016. Therapeutic role of Vitamin B12 in patients of chronic
tinnitus: A pilot study. A total 40 patients were enrolled, of which 20 in Group
A (cases) received intramuscular therapy of 1 ml Vitamin B12 (2500 mcg) weekly
for a period of 6 weeks and Group B (20) patients received placebo isotonic
saline 01 ml intramuscular. The patients were subjected to Vitamin B12 assay and
audiometry pre- and post-therapy. Of the total patients of tinnitus, 17 were
Vitamin B12 deficient that is 42% showed deficiency when the normal levels were
considered to be 250 pg/ml. A paired t-test showed that in Group A, patients
with Vitamin B12 deficiency showed significant improvement in mean tinnitus
severity index score and visual analog scale (VAS) after Vitamin B12 therapy.
This pilot study highlights the significant prevalence of Vitamin B12 deficiency
in North Indian population and improvement in tinnitus severity scores and VAS
in cobalamin-deficient patients receiving intramuscular Vitamin B12 weekly for 6
weeks further provides a link between cobalamin deficiency and tinnitus thereby
suggestive of a therapeutic role of B12 in cobalamin-deficient patients of
tinnitus.
Q. As you may know there are millions of people who suffer
from a condition called tinnitus (ringing in the ears) due to any number of
causes from noise trauma (the cause of my tinnitus), certain drugs, acoustic neuroma, etc. Over the past year I have tried the following: Ginkgo Balboa,
B-12, Zinc, melatonin, various sound therapy treatments, Tinnitus Retraining
Therapy, a magnetic device called Ti-Ex, and cognitive behavior training. I had
an ENT evaluation to rule out any medical conditions and had a hearing test in
which shows I have a hearing loss in the left ear in the 6900-7100hz range which
is where my tinnitus sound is matched to. What is your view on tinnitus and
other possible treatments, holistic, nutritional, etc? I am glad that I found
your website again because back in the 1990's I corresponded with you a number
of times when melatonin first hit the market and purchased your book "The
Melatonin: Nature's Sleeping Pill ". You are one of the VERY few Doctors that I
trust on medical information. Keep up the good work!
A. Thank you. We will update our site as more research
is published.
Carnosine
Q. Could you offer an opinion or refer me to studies that
deal with the possible effectiveness of carnosine in treating tinnitus. A
nutritional counselor told me that it can reduce glycation of the hairs in the
inner ear which might be the cause of my tinnitus. I am 71 years old and have
been told by my ENT physician that I have lost some hearing for higher frequency
sounds.
A. I have not, as of 2016, seen studies with carnosine for the
natural treatment of tinnitus.
Medical Tinnitus treatment
Tinnitus is the perception of phantom
sound in the absence of a corresponding external source. It is a highly
prevalent disorder, and most cases are caused by cochlear injury that leads to
peripheral deafferentation, which results in adaptive changes in the CNS.
For those with severe tinnitus who have failed other treatments, such as dietary modification, herbs and nutrients, sound therapies (tinnitus retraining, Neuromonics, masking, and others), or centrally acting medications, transcranial magnetic stimulation may be an option.
The ability to tolerate tinnitus varies among patients. Treatment of tinnitus should be directed toward the underlying disease, because its amelioration may lessen the tinnitus. Correcting the associated hearing loss usually relieves the tinnitus; a hearing aid often suppresses the tinnitus. Although there is no specific medical or surgical therapy for tinnitus, many patients find relief by playing background music to mask the tinnitus and may go to sleep with the radio playing. Some patients benefit from using a tinnitus masker, a device worn like a hearing aid that presents a sound more pleasant than the tinnitus. Electrical stimulation of the inner ear, as with a cochlear implant, occasionally reduces the tinnitus but is appropriate only for the profoundly deaf.
People suffering from chronic ringing in the ears may find some relief by spraying the hormone oxytocin in their nose, a small initial study by Brazilian researchers suggests.
Loud noise, acoustic neuroma
Prolonged exposure to loud noise increases the risk of acoustic neuroma,
a benign tumor that grows in the nerve connecting the ear to the brain that is
associated with hearing loss, tinnitus (ringing in the ears) and disequilibrium.
Tinnitus Research study
The role of zinc in the treatment of tinnitus.
Ankara Numune Research and Education Hospital, Turkey.
This study was designed to investigate the role of zinc administration in
treatment of tinnitus. Patients with tinnitus were admitted to the ear, nose,
and throat clinic of the authors' hospital. Patients with tinnitus with no know
pathologic conditions of the ear, nose, and throat; the mean age of 28 patients
receiving zinc was 51.2 years, and that of 13 patients given placebo was 55
years. Blood zinc levels were measured. Frequency was detected by audiometry,
and loudness of tinnitus was screened by tinnitus match test. A questionnaire
that scored tinnitus subjectively between 0 and 7 was given to patients before
zinc treatment. After 2 months of treatment (zinc 50 mg daily to zinc group,
placebo pill containing starch to placebo group), all of the tests were
performed again. There was no difference in age, sex, duration of tinnitus, and
affected ears between the patients treated with zinc and those treated with
placebo. Blood zinc levels were lower than normal in 31% of patients before
treatment. A decrease in tinnitus loudness by at least 10 dB was accepted as
clinically favorable progress. A decrease of more than 1 point in subjective
tinnitus scoring was accepted as valid. Clinically favorable progress
was detected in 46.4% of patients given zinc. Although this decrease was not
statistically significant, the severity of subjective tinnitus decreased in 82%
of the patients receiving zinc. The mean of subjective tinnitus decreased from
5 to 2.8. However, the decrease in severity of the
tinnitus was not significant in patients receiving placebo. It can
be concluded that patients with tinnitus may have low blood zinc levels (31%)
and clinical and subjective improvement can be achieved by oral zinc medication.
However, it remains to be seen whether the longer duration of treatment has more
significant results.
People troubled by persistent ringing in the ears known as tinnitus may find relief with therapy aimed at changing the way they think about the problem. Tinnitus is a common disorder, estimated to affect 36 million Americans. It can arise from a number of causes, from ear wax build-up to medication side effects to hearing loss. For some people, the noise is persistent and bothersome enough to interfere with daily life. Treatment depends on the underlying problem, but one strategy--known as tinnitus retraining therapy (Tinnitus RT)--involves counseling to change the way patients perceive and react to the ear noise. In addition, small "noise generators" that can be worn in the ear are used to provide a low-level sound that competes with the tinnitus and makes it less noticeable. In the new study, 6 months of Tinnitus RT improved both physical and emotional well-being among 32 patients with tinnitus. The patients had been living with the ear ringing for more than 7 years, on average. Dr. Julie A. Berry and colleagues at the University of Maryland Medical System in Baltimore evaluated patients' scores on a standard test of daily functioning and emotional well-being before and after 6 months of Tinnitus RT. After therapy there was an improvement in test scores -- in practical measures such as job performance and concentration, and in the way patients reacted emotionally to their tinnitus. Evidence suggests that the brain can be retrained to remove the negative emotional association given to the tinnitus signal. For its part, the sound-generating ear device may blur the contrast between a patient's tinnitus and everyday noises in the environment, helping to change the way the tinnitus is perceived. Archives of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery 2002;128:1153-1157. Tinnitus treatment cause of tinnitus pulsatile tinnitus tinnitus relief clear tinnitus acupuncture tinnitus remedy.
Using a magnet to generate an electrical current in areas of the brain that control hearing does not seem to improve ringing in the ears.
Emails
Do you think
carnosine could be
helpful for tinnitus?
I have not seen studies regarding carnosine and
tinnitus.
I have taken
quercetin and after a
couple of days the tinnitus in my ear increases in volume. I also understand
that tinnitus can also be a sign of hearing loss. Can quercetin cause hearing
loss? or worsen one's tinnitus ?
We have come across no such research regarding quercetin
and tinnitus or hearing loss, so we can't really say.
Both my wife and me, are suffering from tinnitus (age
61 and 66). No trauma, no visible anatomic disorders / changes. We since years
take 300 mg ubiquinone a day and high dosage of Vitamin C and alpha lipoic acid
and a lot of other food supplements. Please, what would you eat if you'd suffer
from tinnitus ? We live in Istambul, Turkey.
I'm not sure diet has a major role to play, except I
would eat lots more fresh vegetables and perhaps more vegetable juices.
I live in London and went in for a MRI on my shoulder
several months ago. After the test, I noticed some hissing in my ears. Since
then I think I have had some hearing loss or ringing in the ears. An ENT doctor
prescribed some prednisone. Have there been any reports of MRI testing causing
tinnitus?
This is not an area I
have studied in any depth. I hope you recover fully.
I have occasional tinnitis, which manifests very quickly
when I take NSAIDs - especially Vioxx, but also Ibuprophen or naproxin sodium.
After being dormant for a couple years, my ringing in the ears is back. I have
for many years taken a variety of supplements, and many of them have a mild
anti-platelet aggregation effect. Is there evidence to suggest that the
tinnitus-inducing effect of NSAIDs is linked to either the platelet aggregation
inhibition effect, COX-2 inhibition, or OCX-3 inhibition? Is there evidence to
suggest that other supplements that have an anti-platelet aggregation effect ex:
quercetin, bromelain, curcumin, vitamin E, resveratrol, tend to induce tinnitis?
There is no evidence that quercetin, bromelain, curcumin,
vitamin E, resveratrol induce ringing in the ears. I have not studied in great
detail the exact physiological mechanism that involves auditory nerve damage
induced by NSAIDs.
For stress-induced tinnitus, mainly due to low ojas/yin
deficiency, is there evidence that supplements such as GABA, NAC and
passionflower can exert a corrective action? What would be long-term approaches
to fully reversing such a condition?
I will provide more research on the treatment of this
condition as more studies are published.
I have read your articles on DHEA and Pregnenolone which I
had prescribed by a
Prolotherapist due to connective tissue deficiency in the treatment of a
strained sacroiliac joint. The doses were DHEA 5mg x 2 and Pregnenolone 10mg x 2
a day. Unfortunately, this has greatly exacerbated my tinnitus.
These two hormones enhance nerve sensation and perhaps this is the
cause? I am not sure.
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