Caffeine (Including Coffee and Soft Drinks) and Its Effect on Tinnitus

Does it affect everything like they say? Coffee and diet drinks... all the diet sweeteners out there, what does those do?

Just trying to get some thoughts from everyone.

 

I consume about 150mg of caffeine a day and it doesn't seem to affect my T. I don't consume diet sweetner enough to offer any thoughts.

 

Hi,

Ever since the onset of my pulsing tinnitus, I quit all coffee (caffeine) and any alcohol,
Per doctors orders. I suppose thats good for me.

In the future, I’d like to have a glass of wine with the wife.
Do any of you Tinnitus sufferers drink alcohol in small moderation?
Will drinking any alcohol make the Tinnitus worse?
Or coffee in that matter.

(Should of posted in general chat)

 

Thanks Karen,
I'll give it some time.
I want part of my old life back, (before tinnitus).

 

I found that alcohol had no affect on my tinnitus, or caffeine. Caffeine definitely can set off anxiety if you're worried about your tinnitus though. Although mine is a high pitched hissing sound, I guess. I used to drink lots of beer, and it wouldn't bother it at all. In fact, it seemed to calm it down, or at least I wasn't aware of it. Which was probably why I drank a lot of beer. But that's not really a good road to go down.

 

I am not sure either one of these things makes T worse directly....but indirectly they might. If too much caffeine makes you jittery, makes your blood pressure spike etc this could make your T worse. The mind has a powerful influence over sounds you hear including T.

Fear/anxiety will also influence your mind and T. If you are obsessed with your T and obsessed about possible triggers of your T, then drinking caffeine WILL probably make it worse. IF you think your T will get worse doing or eating something, then it will. Caffeine used to make my T spike something fierce when T was my focus and obsession. So did eating a burger, jogging around the block, watching a movie and flying my kite. Now days none of those things affects me or my T. I cope much better and rarely care about my T, I can drink coffee or tea and my T stays the same- no spikes. I suspect if you fear something you drink or eat will make your T worse--then most likely it will but not because of what you ate or drank but the reaction to what you ate or drank.

I still have fluctuating T and on my low days like today, I can drink coffee, tea, play basketball, eat Panda Express (I know, I know very bad) and guess what? My T is still low. Now on my louder T days, I can do the same exact thing and my T stays the same, loud for that day. If I have a headache, I take some Ibuprofen and it doesn't affect my T either. I am not saying it is all smiles and roses every day. I still have my ups and downs and sometimes T bugs me. But I think about all that is good in my life and it keeps me grounded.

After several months of trying out the patterns/triggers of my T with different combinations of foods, supplements, what to eat and what not to eat and when, should I exercise or not, should I go to the movies or not etc, , I decided ENOUGH! and got back to living....I improved, my T improved, I didn't obsess about stuff so much and I feel much better. I still have low and high T days just like I did before when I did all those OCD things to figure out my T, but most of us are not going to be able to figure out our T. It's just not that easy. So spend that time doing things you want to do and get back to living. If you want that latte, then have one.

Disclaimer: This is just my personal experience and opinions and may not reflect what you experience. Your results may vary

P.S. Alcohol does seem to make my T louder and I don't drink much but if I am out with friends having a good time (and drinking a bit), it is well worth the temporary spike I may get whether it is actually the alcohol itself or some anxiety I have about drinking it.

 

Although many say alchohol can be a contributing factor in exacerbating the condition, I quit drinking completely for maybe two years before the onset of chronic Tinnitus, and don't drink still. The condition worsened. Now, caffine does seem to affect me, but only occasionally. I'm a very heavy coffee drinker, moreso since I quit alcohol. The caffine seems to aggrevate the T only during periods when stress levels are rising. Stress+excess caffine+disturbed sleep patterns+flare of a physical ailment almost always leads to a prolonged episode of high T levels stretching into days on end. Yet at other times the caffine doesn't seem to play a part; the T seems to comes out of nowhere. Although nine out of ten times stress is a factor in there somewhere.

 

I don't drink (never have) and I don't do caffeine anymore (but I already did quit caffeine before my tinnitus).
I don't believe food has any effect on the level of my tinnitus, although I do eat a lot more vegetables and fruits and stay away from any junk-food or candy. The result is loss of weight and no more high blood pressure, so that's a good thing caused by my reaction to my tinnitus. By the way: seems to me that the blood pressure does have no effect on my tinnitus.

 

Regarding alcohol:
I find it interesting that some tinnitus suffers don't like drinking, because it seems to make their tinnitus worse. Not me.

For myself, drinking - in moderation - gets my mind off thinking about my tinnitus. I think that for many of us the problem with tinnitus is we are too focused on it. I think that fits within the Jastreboff/Hazell theories, that it's a viscous cycle of our conscious brain.

 

I would agree with that Karl. Just having some wine with my wife outside, like normal living.
It's the wine, and when I'm in the backyard my T seems lower. I hope it's not worse tomorrow.

Exactly, I think the wine made me not to dwell or focus on it. That makes a difference for me.
I was feeling ok. Lets all have a great summer, enjoy life, and get the grill going.

 

I don't drink alcohol but I am addicted to Dr. Pepper and haven’t had on for about three months now. I would love to drink one but have been waiting for T to stay down for more than a week before I try. Still trying to weed out what aggravated T and what doesn’t.

 

Does anyone still drink coffee? Does decafe make T worse...no sugar maybe stivia?

 

I reduced coffee, just one espresso in the morning and sometimes half a cup after lunch, it seems doesn't affect my T. I usually drunk a glass of red wine at dinner time, I quit right after the onset of tinnitus. Last time I tried T. became louder. So I'll check again in the next days.

 

In my experience, the only thing that has ever affected my tinnitus was exposure to loud sound without protection. I used to drink, smoke cigars, eat fast food, generally do what I please. On the flip side, medications such as Clonazepam that are sometimes reported to have an effect on tinnitus did not quiet mine down at all. What it did do was calm me down, which is worth the price of gold in the midst of month long panic attacks and sustained anxiety.

 

I have to say caffine and alcohol have not had an effect on my tinnitus to the point where I've had to stop them. Actually, I don't think I've gone more than a week without coffee since getting tinnitus. Alcohol can definitely spike my tinnitus when I'm hammered but it's temporary and I expect it. On the flip side it'll sometimes settle it if I just have a couple drinks and relax.

 

What does everyone else do for a pickmeup? I used to rely on coffee to get me through the day, and no have no idea what to do! SO SLEEPY IN THE OFFICE.

 

I couldn't give up coffee, no way!

Anyone that has the strength to give up coffee has the strength to beat tinnitus!

 

I have given up coffee, wine, dairy and chocolate...and now thinking of going gluten free to reduce the dizziness (or try to)...that is a lot simple pleasures in life to part with....not to mention all the external stuff like movie theaters, concerts, bars, etc! Damn T!

 

Demi what about going 1/2 decaf 1/2 regular for a while?

 

Gluten-free to reduce dizziness? What?

 

When I first got T a year ago I continued to drink coffee and only when I had multiple cups did it give me spikes for a couple hours. But ever since my horrible increase in November I don't want to risk what it will sound like with caffeine. Though I do still eat chocolate and have soda occasionally.

 

Hey Demi,

How about tea?? I was a 2 cup a morning coffee drinker for 20 years and quit when I got T. It did seem to exacerbate my T. So, at the suggestion of a friend, tried hot tea in the mornings. I drink Chai Tea, even though it has low amounts of caffeine, it doesn't affect my T. But it does psychologically give me that pick me up that coffee used to. Might give it a try?!

Best to you!

 

Alibee I haven't started the gluten-free diet yet...it definitely would have to be a major lifestyle change. My neighbor suffers with dizziness and cutting out gluten brings his symptoms way down...but it's tough. I've read it elsewhere as well. Who knows...I'm convinced my dizziness is related to my T...and I haven't got any further than that!

 

Something I read about coffee that surprised me: you are fully awake 20 minutes after waking up, with, or without caffeine. Coffee is useful to calm caffeine addiction, and to increase your alertness during mid morning, when cortisol levels are dropping (not that you need it if you had a sound sleep).

Another good moment to drink coffee is whenever the hell you want specially if it is the kind of good coffee that tastes good without sugar.

 

you can continue to eat normally, tinnitus is like feeling a limb itching, you're not gonna stop eating normally because one of your limb is itching, do apply the same to tinnitus

 

I think that in my case of T coffee doesn't do anything. I did however decrease the amount. Only about one cup when I really need it, I stay away from coffee because I don't know my T 100% and I don't wan to overdo it. Not to mention I don't need my blood pressure to go up like crazy either. I do however drink tea, which surely has some caffeine in there. I haven't really noted any side effects, but I do need to be careful. This week I got some green tea as well .

 

... I forgot to mention. For some reason milk was not so great for my T so I tried lactose free and seems like a little bit better choice. Makes me wonder why would foods have to do with an auditory nerve?