Back to the original TPP theory: chronic alcoholics are always thiamine deficient. They always get a "banana bag" of B vites high in thiamin on admission to prevent withdrawl seizures. I would think they would have T.
Fascinating! Thanks for turning me on to this subject! I have a feeling this line of research will prove fruitful to me--- alcohol and tinnitus ARE related in a very interesting way. I had no idea!
From what I've read, alcoholics DO have higher rates of T--- but only in the elderly, as far as I could tell. One article I read said that in alcoholics over the age of 65, 20% of them have tinnitus.
However, there is also this: I also read that going through alcohol withdrawal can initiate tinnitus.
My understanding is that the reason that alcoholics get a banana bag of b vitamins is not because of the alcohol per se, but because many severe alcoholics don't actually eat much FOOD, and then become B deficient.
I read this very interesting article recently which tested a drug use for those going through alcohol withdrawal. In this case, those with tinnitus (who were NOT alcoholics) took the alcohol withdrawal drug Campral for 30 days. 87% of them got some relief from their tinnitus. 13% were cured of the tinnitus, while 48% had an improvement more than 50%. Here's the link:
http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/news/20050922/alcoholism-drug-may-ease-ringing-in-ears
Then there is this from the Scripps Research Institute:
"Scientists used to think of alcohol as a membrane disruptor with a generalized effect all over the brain, as the small molecule can freely diffuse across the blood–brain barrier. They now know that there are particular cells in the brain that alcohol targets by binding certain hydrophobic pockets on their surface receptors. The gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor is one of these. "Alcohol is an indirect GABA agonist," says Koob.
GABA is the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain, and GABA-like drugs are used to suppress spasms. Alcohol is believed to mimic GABA's effect in the brain, binding to GABA receptors and inhibiting neuronal signaling.
Alcohol also inhibits the major excitatory neurotransmitter, glutamate, particularly at the N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptor. And it releases other inhibitors, such as dopamine and serotonin."
https://www.scripps.edu/newsandviews/e_20020225/koob2.html
That is, alcohol affects GABA receptors in the brain. P5P (activated B6) is necessary to make GABA in the brain. There is a connection here.
SUMMARY OF WHAT I'VE LEARNED FROM THIS QUICK RESEARCH
(1) Alcohol withdrawal initiates tinnitus. Alcohol binds to GABA receptors in the brain. This means that alcohol causes your brain to act like it has extra GABA. This is partly why alcohol relaxes you. However, when you are a chronic alcohol abuser, I suspect your body slows down its own GABA production, though it still produces some (because the GABA receptors are chronically activated anyway with alcohol.) This is fine as long as you continue to consume alcohol. However, as soon as you stop alcohol, and your body hasn't started producing its own GABA yet, you have a severe GABA deficiency in the brain. Tinnitus is one consequence. Feeling very nervous and jumpy is another--- the shakes.
(2) Chronic alcohol consumption initiates tinnitus. I could only find increased T in elderly patients--- and only 20% of them. Here is my theory: if you have chronically consumed alcohol for many years, you may be 5P5 or TPP deficient. You body may produce NO GABA in this situation, so even alcohol might not be enough to activate GABA receptors.
I wonder if consuming small amounts of alcohol IMPROVE people's tinnitus ---- briefly?
Does anyone have any experience with this? (I don't consume alcohol myself, and don't plan on starting myself just now.)
My best guess would be that alcohol would help T while you are drinking it, but after the alcohol leaves your system the T might be worse.
What do people think?