Some people say alcohol is good for people with tinnitus. Others say it is bad. They’re both right. If you would like to understand how this can be, just keep reading.
You may have heard that drinking a little alcohol reduces tinnitus symptoms in some people. You may also have heard that drinking a little alcohol increases tinnitus symptoms in some people. Surprisingly, both those reports are correct.
In 1995, the Welsh Hearing Institure decided to find out the truth of the matter. The results of their study weren’t easy to interpret. Why? 22% of the people in the study found that drinking increased their tinnitus. 16% found that drinking reduced their tinnitus. The other 62% reported no effect. What does this tell us?
Actually, this tells us a lot. First, it tells us that for most of us, moderate alcohol consumption is unlikely to affect our tinnitus one way or the other. But if it does, the effect could be good or bad. While I haven’t seen any definitive research into why the results came out this way, I can speculate based on what I know about tinnitus in general. For people who benefit from alcohol, it is likely that stress is one of the causes of their tinnitus. That’s because a small amount of alcohol can reduce your stress levels. And reduced stress can reduce tinnitus symptoms.
It is less clear why modest consumption of alcohol would increase tinnitus effects. One possibility is that alcohol does seem to act as a stimulant for some people. Stimulants frequently increase tinnitus symptoms.
Heavy drinking, on the other hand, will almost surely increase tinnitus. With all the bad, bad effects that a heavy drinking bout causes in your body, the results will almost surely be bad for your ears too.
Will Drinking a Bit of Alcohol Hurt or Help Your Ringing Ears?
It is relatively easy to figure out whether alcohol increases or decreases your tinnitus symptoms. But first, let me make this clear: In no way am I suggesting that you start drinking as a way to treat your tinnitus! But if you already drink, we can do an experiment to discover whether or not the way you drink now in any way contributes to your hearing issues.
To find out how your current drinking patterns affect your tinnitus, you simply need to take some notes. The next several times you have alcoholic beverages, be alert to how intense your tinnitus is after you drink. Make some notes of how it seems.
Next, if you’re feeling up to it, stop drinking altogether for a couple of weeks and make note of your general level of tinnitus. Between them, these experiments will teach you everything you need to decide whether there is an alcohol and tinnitus connection for you.
To learn more about how food and drink can affect your tinnitus, and how both fit into a holistic plan that can cure your tinnitus at last, click here.
