What Do You Drink? What Beverages Can Improve or Worsen Tinnitus?

[Ben Winders]

I had a quiet day today. Glanced over to the right of my desk where there was an empty bottle of Schweppes Tonic Water (zero sugar).

I thought to myself - hmm, I should get some more when I head out to the supermarket later, maybe the tonic is why I have such a good day today.

But just out of curiosity I Googled "kinine"/"quinine" (an ingredient in tonic water) and tinnitus. There you go: tinnitus can be caused by quinine in high quantities, even one gin & tonic has some people's tinnitus spike.

I laughed a little and said to myself: "I can probably Google ANYTHING and there will be SOMEONE claiming it made their tinnitus worse."

On Tinnitus Talk alone there are reports of spikes being caused by:

• 3 glasses of Fanta
• caffeine
• a glass of cold water
• alcohol (I thought alcohol did some good things for GABA production?)

I'm really doing the same thing though: I'm connecting my good day with the consumption of tonic water

Obviously this is just insanity and there is no way to live properly if you take all these reports for reality, but I was wondering if anyone knows of any research that looked into which beverage could actually be beneficial for tinnitus, instead of being harmful.

I've read good things about ginger, but drinking pure ginger doesn't sound like such a fun time.

 

[Joey72]

Chamomile tea helps me with sleep. It has a calming effect.

 

[ZFire]

I've read good things about ginger, but drinking pure ginger doesn't sound like such a fun time.

You eventually get used to it when constantly consuming it. Try ginger shots. There's usually citrus added to it.

 

[Eleanor89]

Hello @Ben Winders. I've never changed my diet for tinnitus. Except to take vitamins etc.

And I've never listened to people's views on the impact of certain beverages and foods on tinnitus.

I eat and drink whatever I want. And enjoy it.

 

[Jupiterman]

Hello @Ben Winders. I've never changed my diet for tinnitus. Except to take vitamins etc.

And I've never listened to people's views on the impact of certain beverages and foods on tinnitus.

I eat and drink whatever I want. And enjoy it.

I guess that's one of the benefits in having stable tinnitus.

 

[ECP]

Sorry, I don't know of any research on specific beverages that help, but I say that if you are feeling good after having some tonic water, you should try it again a few more times and keep a diary that tries to correlate your food and beverages and mood. If tonic water works for you consistently, then nobody needs to know why, and you need not uncover any research to back you up (although the curious people among us, myself included, will still want to know more about what's going on, LOL).

I dream of the day when we can have a one-size-fits-all remedy and diet for sufferers of tinnitus and hyperacusis, but until that day comes, we're all tentatively feeling our way forward, one experiment at a time. *sigh*

I hope that tonic water is your magic elixir. I'm still trying to find mine. Wine works great for me, but since it wouldn't be healthy to be drunk 24/7, I'm hoping to find other beverages that have the same instant noise-quieting, pain-relieving effect. : )

 

[OptimusPrimed]

Red wine, sour beers, Erdinger weissbier... water... basically whatever whenever but I try to limit alcohol to keep testosterone production up!

 

[momus]

I like a small glass of Evan Williams Bourbon mixed 1 to 6 w/ water. Obviously, this is my nitey nite drink, along w/ an occasional cup of Chamomile tea w/ Lavender. I guess I could just pour the Bourbon into the tea, but it seems very wrong. During the day, it's my usual one cup of coffee, or two cups if I'm not going out for a cup w/ a delicious, freshly made strawberry donut. Other than that, all I drink is water.

What I discovered is that more than 2 cups of coffee a day just makes me nervous and amps up my tinnitus, while 1-2 cups gives a mild mood brightening effect to the morning. It gets me awake for my 1-1.5 hour daily bike ride, which also amps up my tinnitus, but it quickly goes back down.

 

[Stuart-T]

I laughed a little and said to myself: "I can probably Google ANYTHING and there will be SOMEONE claiming it made their tinnitus worse."

Absolutely.

I drink what I want and I eat what I want.

I messed around with various diets and avoided certain foods, gluten etc, and in the end I could not say with any confidence that any food or drink has any significant impact.

Others may have another experience. I'm glad about mine, as I can eat and drink what I want.

 

[Juan]

For me tea improves tinnitus, specially green tea.

 

[Robster]

The only thing I consume that I can 100% say definitely affects my tinnitus is alcohol. It always spikes my tinnitus. Luckily I've never been a big drinker.

 

[momus]

Thank goodness alcohol doesn't make my tinnitus worse. That assumes I just have 1- 2 shots of Bourbon, which is my normal consumption a day/night. More of it will make it worse, so in a strange way the tinnitus is a good thing, it's keeping my liver and kidneys healthy (while my mind sometimes goes crazy from the tinnitus, but it's probably been that way anyway!)

 

[The Antagonist]

I almost exclusively drink water now. More of a general health thing than to do with my tinnitus. Sometimes I drink Gatorade if I've exerted myself too much. I never really noticed that big of a difference when I used to drink Coke and Dr. Pepper. I haven't drank nearly enough alcohol recently to tell if it makes a difference. Hangovers and migraines do make my tinnitus a lot worse though for sure.

I guess it just affects everyone differently.