Gluten-Free and Feeling Better

I never thought I'd be sharing this as a potential treatment but I went gluten-free a month ago and have noticed a significant improvement in the level of my tinnitus. My father recommended I read a book, "Grain Brain," by Dr. Perlmutter. I figured it would be a bunch of conjecture nonsense. To my surprise, the book was full of scientific evidence supporting why most people's diets (including mine) lead to inflammation and disease in our bodies. I won't discuss the science behind it here but I highly recommend reading it if you happen to consume a lot of wheat/grain products and find your tinnitus to be unbearable at times as I found mine.

In the month since I went completely gluten-free and mostly grain-free (I have rice or quinoa once or twice a week max) I no longer hear tinnitus in my right ear and my left ear is considerably reduced (sometimes silent). I've also started running 2-3x a week again and the collective benefits have been astounding. My panic attacks and anxiety have been reduced, my tinnitus is reduced, and I sleep better despite currently going through one of the most stressful transitions in my life (moving from one state to another).

Another benefit of the wheat-free diet: dramatic weight loss. My father is 5' 8" and has been stuck at 200 lbs for the last two years. As soon as he cut out wheat (maintained the same caloric intake) he dropped 6 lbs in one week and has been dropping more ever since. In my case, I'm already fairly thin and found it difficult to consume enough calories at first but now that I've adjusted I'm regularly taking in 2500-3000 calories a day.

I know a lot of you will quickly say there's no reason to believe a gluten-free/wheat-free diet would have any impact on someone's tinnitus. I felt the exact same way until a month ago when I read this book. Now, here I am with a considerable difference in my tinnitus and it's really the first time since my tinnitus flared up 4 years ago that I feel like I've done something to make it better.

Keep in mind this isn't an overnight change. In fact it got a little worse during the first week when I experienced "wheat withdrawal." It was really hard for me since I consumed wheat on a daily basis, sometimes with every meal. Now four weeks later I feel better in so many ways and have no intention of going back to wheat anytime soon. I hope this can help some of you, too.

ONE OTHER THOUGHT: I also saw a doctor about my hormone levels a few weeks ago and found myself to be deficient in Vitamin D3. I started taking a daily Vitamin D3 supplement of 5000 IU + Vitamin K2 and found my mood improved dramatically. It's possible this is also helping my tinnitus. Didn't wanna leave anything out

 

Great post and glad you're doing well! I've done tons of reading about this too. I believe cutting out wheat does make a substantial difference. Also consider cutting out sugar and dairy. And soy. Sugar (added sugar, not the sugars which naturally occur in whole food) is a beast to the body. And dairy is too, though the whole world loves cheese. I used to consume yogurt and cheese like crazy, but decided to stop because of animal-industry reasons. Along the way, I also learned how harmful dairy products are to the body. I am so glad you've found success and shared this reference book. It's information that I wish was more widely available even to those who don't specifically seek it. Thanks for sharing!

 

hi,
interesting thought as my girlfriend has celiac and eats gluten free extensively so i eat mostly gluten free as well ( she is the cook ) and have noticed a significant decrease in my tinnitus so now that i read your post maybe there is some truth in it, thanks for sharing

 

I can't remember where I read it, but somewhere online I came across that tinnitus in the right ear is linked to wheat inflammatory response and tinnitus in the left ear is linked to rice inflammatory response. The Grain Brain book sounds intriguing and I look forward to reading it. It's on Amazon.com, with a 75% five-star positive rating and a 3% one-star negative rating.

Insulin resistance is also linked to tinnitus. Because my tinnitus would spike after some meals, especially lunch, I decided to do a little research on it and wondered if I might have that problem. A couple weeks ago I stopped eating all processed foods, all foods with added sugar, and all simple carbs. I haven't stopped eating complex carbs but make sure that there's protein with every meal in which I eat carbs. I had to say good-bye to a lot of favorite foods, like bread and pasta during the week and my Sunday morning pancakes with maple syrup. However, I really like veggies and fruits, so it isn't too much of a sacrifice for me.

My tinnitus is definitely improving. I don't know that I can attribute it all to the new way of eating because I'm following the ACRN protocol also, but I think the new diet makes a difference. Not only that, I seem to be sleeping better, too, no longer waking up two or three times a night, although I still can't seem to get past 6 hours of sleep without the tinnitus waking me up.

 

I would be interested in knowing if anyone here has tried a gluten free diet while inflicted with tinnitus for any reason and if they/you have noticed an impact on your tinnitus. There seems to be a lot of anecdotal discussions on the internet especially from the gluten free forums regarding a relationship between tinnitus and gluten.

 

Hiya,

I did the "Clean Gut" diet by Alejandro Junger which cuts out all grains for 21 days, except for small amounts of pea protein, lentils and quinoa.

I felt absolutely awful in the first 5 days of doing it then on the 6th day, I felt phenomenal. By day 8 my tinnitus had completely disappeared.

I am back to a "normal" diet now - albeit one which doesn't include wheat and foods high in lactose. I have eat wheat containing foods 3 times and each time it upset my stomach and also coincided with the appearances of quite bad tinnitus which lasted for several days...

I have said this in several other posts but food intolerances can be a huge contributing factor to tinnitus, due to the brain gut connection. This is not some hocus pocus crackpot theory - some scientists call the gut the "second brain" due to the number of neurotransmitters in the digestive system. And the nervous system is connected to tinnitus.

I would definitely recommend doing an elimination diet (under the supervision of a dietician) to see whether you have any food intolerances. There is no test for food intolerances - only way to figure it out is to do an elimination diet and introduce each potential trigger in one at a time, to see how you respond. Wheat may not be a trigger for you - perhaps peanuts, lactose, corn, sugar, dairy or a multitude of others things could be...

 

@mintblue what caused your T?

 

Article on gut bacteria and effect on some brain processes.


https://www.theguardian.com/science/neurophilosophy/2016/apr/05/gut-bacteria-brain-myelin

 

My tinnitus started Feb 2016 and I went gluten free 2 years ago. I was beginning to think the opposite - that maybe going gluten free made my tinnitus worse by cutting out certain foods (not wheat) but other vitamins and trace minerals in cereals and other foods etc.

Wheat makes me seriously ill, so I could well imagine that it could affect tinnitus as well.

 

To add another point - I think that we've screwed around with food so much, GMI, fertilisers etc that it's now taking its toll on people who may be more sensitive to what enters their body.

 

After I gave up gluten I started feeling better.

 

For the past 4 months I have been on low gluten and avoiding high fructose corn syrup entirely. My T spikes have not been quite a bit better and less frequent. My H is down and my middle ear myoclonus mostly stopped. Also my T side jaw clicking stopped.

I am very pleased with this improvement although my T and H are not gone.

 

@canyonero that's a very good news ! How evolved your H without gluten ? I will begin a diet like this

 

High Fructose corn syrup may have been the causing the problem though, I have been avoiding both due to digestive issues and am not sure which one is helping my ear problems.

 

Not T exactly but my son had many terrible migraines per week he cut out gluten among other things and his migraines are greatly reduced.
It is known however that migraine and T are linked and on MRI both light up many of the same areas in the brain.

 

All wheat flour products and salicyclate foods spike my T. When I stay away, the ringing in both pitch & volume subside. NOT go away completely, but definitely go way down.

 

Some foods increase neuroexcitability. <<--New word! It's true. Some foods are high in glutamate (it's naturally occurring in food) and consuming a diet with high amounts of glutamate can increase excitability in brain nerves which are already too excitable. You can google "foods high in glutamate" for various lists online.

 

There's a good book by Russell Blaylock, M.D., called Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills.



Here's a nice little website about glutamate content in food, along with explanation of free glutamate.

 

Thank you, Cheza! I really will check these out! I'm a committed good eater (except for that big bag of Jackson's Honest Organic Coconut Oil Potato Chips I just had for supper ... ).

Just ordered the book on Amazon. Thanks!

 

Well cthey do say vitamin D is good for mood but last year I was given a toxic amount without k2 and consequently my T got worse and I got H.
I will hi wver be trying gluten free, I was asked to reduce it years ago by my Rheumy for my auto immune disease but the chance of T going down makes it really worth while. I've just bought the book. I hope I am saying thank you very soon.

 

I've always been able to hear ringing in silence since I was little but then a few years ago a high pitched ringing started in my left ear. I think it was a combination of stress and barotrauma from wearing earplugs on a flight. My hearing tests are always great, so not sure what's causing it. Nerve damage? TMJ? Stress? I definitely clench my jaw a lot when I'm under stress. But all I know is changing my diet and cooking more at home seems to help.

 

If you are trying to eat a diet low in free glutamates, to diminish the effects of neurotoxicity in the brain, there is a lot to consider. I have no idea where I found this (it was saved to my computer from a search a while ago), so I don't know who to attribute it to (though that info may be embedded in the text). It is, however, a huge amount of information on the hidden glutamates in much of the food supply, and how to eat around that if you are interested in doing so.

I'm sticking it in a pdf because it's so long. If you can't open it for some reason, let me know and I'll copy-paste the whole thing here.

 

I started to read your pdf but it stressed me out. I'm going gluten free, can't face trying to go msg free too right now.

 

MSG is mostly found in processed garbage foods, anyway. IMO, if you're undertaking significant dietary changes to see if it improves your health, you're shooting yourself in the foot if you continue to eat premade/boxed/canned whatever food. It's all crap.

 

Interesting, AM-101 tries to stop the glutamate excitotoxicity in the cochlea. I wonder if glutin and glutamate in your diet have an affect on this.

 

it's complicated. One related fact is that the calming neurotransmitter GABA, is biosynthesized out of dietary glutamate. So simply cutting your glutamate intake to zero is not what you want to do.

Gluten and glutamate are not really connected in a relevant way.

 

I figured. I know it's complicated. I have a little understanding of endocrinology, but neurochemistry is a complete mystery to me.

 

@noisebox

T and migraines are related? I used to have a lot of migraines and it still occurs sometimes.

 

There is some information online about people following low free-glutamate (as in, food additive glutamates, not the kind of glutamates which occur naturally within whole foods) diets, in order to calm down over-excited neurochemistry. There are people who use low free-glutamate diets to help children with ADHD. Things like that. Since tinnitus involves hyperexcitability of brain neurons, it MIGHT help to calm the brain a bit to stay away from diets high in free glutamates. As @linearb said, if you eat processed foods, they are FULL of "hidden" MSG. This includes ingredients like "natural flavors, vitamin-fortified" etc. The word "protein" listed in the ingredients on a package is NOT a food. Protein is a component within food. But if it's listed as an actual ingredient (like in an energy bar), then it is a processed ingredient. Stay away from food with additives, colorants, etc. Even many organic so-called "health foods" use some of these ingredients.

The best and safest way to eat is to consume whole food: fruits, vegetables, whole grains (I believe gluten-free can be helpful for lots of things; some people may have no trouble with gluten), nuts, berries, etc. Meat and dairy are not really good for us. Just sayin' ...

 

Fascinating thread! I'll have to research this more and hear or not hear if it helps me! Congratulations on those it has helped how exciting!