Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA) for Tinnitus

I use ALA 1,200mg daily for neuropathy in my legs and it definitely helps that. I just started it back up again, so I'm interested to see if it helps with my new friend, tinnitus.

 

I have quite bad neuropathy in both feet. I think some of it comes from my back. The podiatrist I’ve seen recommended ALA and B-Complex vitamins I believe. I also use Lyrica when my feet act up. My tinnitus hasn’t been too bad lately but waking up in the morning can be tough to endure.

 

It could be the placebo effect but the combo used in the study is what I've used since the end of January. It's the best period I've had since February 2022. Early March, after a year off, I started going back into the gym. For me I have had fewer "debilitating" days. Many days are still moderate-severe but the ALA might be doing something with regards to reduction (10-15%) in my tinnitus severity. I use the supplements from the company that supplied them for the study (Lamberts) and made sure the multivitamin/mineral is also the same (Over 50s) as used in the study.

I'm also using a table top sound enrichment speaker at home and using hearing aids (which don't really help) all day.

 

Did anyone experience a spike when introducing ALA at first? I happened to have some in my drawer, not expired, 600 mg capsules by Superior Labs. I tried a capsule 2 or 3 nights ago, and man was my tinnitus aggravated and just more electric sounding when I went to bed. I didn’t put it together until when I took it again this evening with dinner, and my tinnitus seems to be ramping up again.

 

@ErikaS, ALA should not spike you. It took about 6 weeks for me to notice a slight benefit. The study was 90 days.

 

I read on your profile that your tinnitus dropped again to a 3-4/10. Do you feel ALA has mainly contributed to that or is there something else you feel helped?

 

It's a 8 at the moment. It's unstable and sound reactive. 3-4 is occasional. It's usually 5-8. There are very few 9-10 days though now. It could be time or habituating a bit. I have used a table top sound machine since January, so maybe the combination of that and the supplement combo has helped. It's a small improvement though.

 

@Óscar PP, @Tim123, read the study protocol.

• Company: Lamberts UK.
• ALA 2 x 300mg on an EMPTY stomach.
• Over 50s multivitamin/mineral 1x WITH food.

 

I came off ALA about 3-4 weeks ago. My tinnitus has been worse the last week. Go figure.