Hello everyone,
Tinnitus Talk really helped me a few years ago and made me feel less alone. I thought I'd come back and share what happened to me in case it is the same for anyone else.
Long story short: I'm allergic to certain foods that trigger a migraine reaction in my brain. Instead of getting the colours and the headache, it affects the auditory part of my brain and my ears ring. Often just one ear. Sometimes it lasts a day. Sometimes it lasts a few seconds. Sometimes it's as loud as a jet. Sometimes it's not loud at all. Since discovering this, I barely get any ringing at all.
I played in bands my whole life. I was, and still am, obsessed with hearing protection. I've passed every hearing test with flying colours. I've always got foam ear plugs in all my pants pockets.
I've got some super mild ringing that I don't even notice. Then around 5 years ago I started getting these massive spikes. I went to 2 different specialists and got brain scans. They couldn't find the cause. 'The ringing goes away, so that's good. Come back if the ringing starts again.'. Pretty hopeless.
After the worst spike I've ever had, I got a last minute appointment with a specialist in Chatswood, Sydney. Dr. Williams. After doing the usual tests we did s0me sort of an interview. He asked if I've ever had a migraine. Yes. But not since I was 12. Do my parents get migraines. Yes. He said OK, spun around in his chair and got a piece of paper. On it was printed a whole list of foods. He said 'You're allergic to these. They trigger migraines.' this list was basically my shopping list. Chocolate. Cheese. Bread. Beer.
Obviously within those foods are more subcategories. So what I had to do was eat 'clean' for 2 weeks, then try something from the list. If I had no ringing, it was ok to eat.
Firstly, eating clean for two weeks was a revelation. There was always some level of buzzing happening that I'd tuned out. That went away. It was bizarre. First thing I had was soy sauce. It was bad. Soy Sauce triggers me within minutes. BUT, if soy sauce is cooked, like in a dumpling filling, it's ok. But if I dunk that dumpling into a dish of soy sauce, bad.
Brie cheese - bad. Ricotta - good.
On and on this has gone for years. Beer - not great. Red wine - bad. All other alcohol - fine.
I would have never guessed that a problem with my ears was related to what I eat. But here we are. It's been about 5 years and every now and then I think, 'Maybe I'll try bread again.' I try some and the next morning BOOM, ringing.
It's weird. I don't know anyone else who's had this condition. But for me, it's been a life saver and a game changer, maybe it could be for you too.
Tinnitus Talk really helped me a few years ago and made me feel less alone. I thought I'd come back and share what happened to me in case it is the same for anyone else.
Long story short: I'm allergic to certain foods that trigger a migraine reaction in my brain. Instead of getting the colours and the headache, it affects the auditory part of my brain and my ears ring. Often just one ear. Sometimes it lasts a day. Sometimes it lasts a few seconds. Sometimes it's as loud as a jet. Sometimes it's not loud at all. Since discovering this, I barely get any ringing at all.
I played in bands my whole life. I was, and still am, obsessed with hearing protection. I've passed every hearing test with flying colours. I've always got foam ear plugs in all my pants pockets.
I've got some super mild ringing that I don't even notice. Then around 5 years ago I started getting these massive spikes. I went to 2 different specialists and got brain scans. They couldn't find the cause. 'The ringing goes away, so that's good. Come back if the ringing starts again.'. Pretty hopeless.
After the worst spike I've ever had, I got a last minute appointment with a specialist in Chatswood, Sydney. Dr. Williams. After doing the usual tests we did s0me sort of an interview. He asked if I've ever had a migraine. Yes. But not since I was 12. Do my parents get migraines. Yes. He said OK, spun around in his chair and got a piece of paper. On it was printed a whole list of foods. He said 'You're allergic to these. They trigger migraines.' this list was basically my shopping list. Chocolate. Cheese. Bread. Beer.
Obviously within those foods are more subcategories. So what I had to do was eat 'clean' for 2 weeks, then try something from the list. If I had no ringing, it was ok to eat.
Firstly, eating clean for two weeks was a revelation. There was always some level of buzzing happening that I'd tuned out. That went away. It was bizarre. First thing I had was soy sauce. It was bad. Soy Sauce triggers me within minutes. BUT, if soy sauce is cooked, like in a dumpling filling, it's ok. But if I dunk that dumpling into a dish of soy sauce, bad.
Brie cheese - bad. Ricotta - good.
On and on this has gone for years. Beer - not great. Red wine - bad. All other alcohol - fine.
I would have never guessed that a problem with my ears was related to what I eat. But here we are. It's been about 5 years and every now and then I think, 'Maybe I'll try bread again.' I try some and the next morning BOOM, ringing.
It's weird. I don't know anyone else who's had this condition. But for me, it's been a life saver and a game changer, maybe it could be for you too.
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