Lactose Intolerance as Cause of My Tinnitus? Anyone Else?

[VickiL]

I have only had tinnitus for about 9 months. Mine began right after I recovered from a bad bout of Shingles. As soon as I recovered from Shingles, I also became severely allergic to Naproxen sodium so I cannot take Aleve or Ibuprofen anymore. I believe at the same time, I probably developed other allergies as well. Shingles is nasty!

My tinnitus is a constant high-pitched white noise in both ears. Once in a while I will notice it's magically gone for a few hours or a day or so, then it comes back. So I try to figure out what is different that made it stop just for those few hours. I just found out my mother is lactose intolerant - she is 76 and just figured it out recently. My brother figured his out in his 40's at about the age I am now. I also have other relatives that are lactose intolerant. But for all of them, it causes abdominal pain, etc., the usual problems that lactose intolerance causes. I believe it can cause ear issues as well from reading some articles online. So I am going to try being as lactose free as I can for the next month. I already tried going caffeine free for the last 4 months because I read online that going caffeine free can really help tinnitus. For me it hasn't done anything to help.

Is anyone else on here lactose intolerant and felt it might be, or is, the cause of their tinnitus? I found 2 articles online supporting this so far. The body sees the lactose as an allergen and releases histamines, which causes a ton of inflammation in the head. This causes fluid build up in the ears as well, and can result in ear infections and tinnitus. Well, I recently had an ear infection from no known cause and have had fluid in my ears the last 2 times I have seen my doctor. My doctor is sending me to an audiologist to check for hearing loss. He says tinnitus has zero connection to food allergies. I think he's wrong and suspect there is a lot of talk on this forum about allergies causing tinnitus. I have also read that gluten can cause ear and tinnitus issues as well and a lot of celiacs report their tinnitus getting better/going away with eating gluten free.

Anyone who is lactose intolerant and has a connection to their tinnitus, please share!

 

[Wrfortiscue]

I'm lactose intolerant and I'm currently testing to see if it's causing worsening symptoms for me. Mine can be mild or pretty bad, varies each day.

 

[Ali Anne]

Hi Vicki
I have just joined this group and I am really interested to hear if you have got any further with the tinnitus/allergy connection.
I am currently in the process of trying to convince my doctor that I need to see an allergy specialist rather than be given hearing aids!
Thank you.

 

[LucyLou128]

I have only had tinnitus for about 9 months. Mine began right after I recovered from a bad bout of Shingles. As soon as I recovered from Shingles, I also became severely allergic to Naproxen sodium so I cannot take Aleve or Ibuprofen anymore. I believe at the same time, I probably developed other allergies as well. Shingles is nasty!

My tinnitus is a constant high-pitched white noise in both ears. Once in a while I will notice it's magically gone for a few hours or a day or so, then it comes back. So I try to figure out what is different that made it stop just for those few hours. I just found out my mother is lactose intolerant - she is 76 and just figured it out recently. My brother figured his out in his 40's at about the age I am now. I also have other relatives that are lactose intolerant. But for all of them, it causes abdominal pain, etc., the usual problems that lactose intolerance causes. I believe it can cause ear issues as well from reading some articles online. So I am going to try being as lactose free as I can for the next month. I already tried going caffeine free for the last 4 months because I read online that going caffeine free can really help tinnitus. For me it hasn't done anything to help.

Is anyone else on here lactose intolerant and felt it might be, or is, the cause of their tinnitus? I found 2 articles online supporting this so far. The body sees the lactose as an allergen and releases histamines, which causes a ton of inflammation in the head. This causes fluid build up in the ears as well, and can result in ear infections and tinnitus. Well, I recently had an ear infection from no known cause and have had fluid in my ears the last 2 times I have seen my doctor. My doctor is sending me to an audiologist to check for hearing loss. He says tinnitus has zero connection to food allergies. I think he's wrong and suspect there is a lot of talk on this forum about allergies causing tinnitus. I have also read that gluten can cause ear and tinnitus issues as well and a lot of celiacs report their tinnitus getting better/going away with eating gluten free.

Anyone who is lactose intolerant and has a connection to their tinnitus, please share!

I definitely think you are right and your doctor is wrong. I have experienced clear increases in tinnitus in response to certain foods, as well as coffee and tea. I developed pulsatile tinnitus when exposed to salicylates in an antifungal cream — and scientists use salicylates in laboratory tests to induce tinnitus.

With coffee, the reaction is immediate, while with iced tea it occurs later, often coming on overnight. Teas also contain tannins, which can affect the parotid glands, located in front of the ears, that help produce a slippery saliva. These glands can become enlarged or swollen from tannins. Tannins can also cause thiamine deficiency.

Iron deficiency, zinc deficiency, or thiamine deficiency can make parotid swelling worse. I have a friend who cannot tolerate dairy, and she says thiamine helps break down something in dairy (I cannot remember the exact name at the moment). Personally, I notice that when I eat Greek yogurt or soft cheese, I sometimes wake up the next morning with a throbbing headache, dry eyes, and worsened tinnitus.

Zinc deficiency can also affect the body's ability to break down lactose. There is a study showing that taking zinc can increase lactase levels in the body. In fact, the study found that lactase levels more than doubled when treated with zinc: