Can Obesity Cause Tinnitus?

[Trish123]

I'm 5'3 and 230 lbs. It's the heaviest I've ever been. My eating habits are terrible. I eat a lot of sweet and salty foods. I'm addicted to food because it makes me feel good but I think my health will be affected. Can obesity also cause tinnitus?

 

[yonkapin]

Blood pressure can definitely affect tinnitus. My dad he would only really notice his tinnitus when his blood pressure was high.

Start exercising and eating better, it will make an incredible difference in every possible way.

Don't hesitate or overthink it, go out to your closest gym and sign up. If you have problems with motivation, I would entertain the idea of using a personal trainer. Otherwise make sure you're exercising 4-5 times a week - run, walk, lift weights, ride a bike (or do spin class at a gym), swim - find something you enjoy and get good at it.

If you're struggling with a legitimate food addiction, then I would probably advise that you seek the help of mental heath practitioner that might be able to help you, I would think something like CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) would be useful for treating something like that but don't really have too much information in that regard. Build a support system that will help you avoid binge eating, whether that is confiding in friends, family or a professional. I'm sure you could probably find social groups who deal with the very subject also.

Good luck! Never too late or too hard to start living a healthier lifestyle, you just need to start.

 

[Frédéric]

Cause of tinnitus is not mentioned though.

The Effects of Diet and Physical Activity Induced Weight Loss on the Severity of Tinnitus and Quality of Life: A Randomized Controlled Trial

 

[Lukee]

Cause of tinnitus is not mentioned though.

The Effects of Diet and Physical Activity Induced Weight Loss on the Severity of Tinnitus and Quality of Life: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Thanks for this fresh study @Frédéric.

Many members here have been advocating for proper nutrition, exercise and fasting as a means to treat tinnitus and related disorders. It's possible for some people these lifestyle changes can completely sure tinnitus but I believe this is more so when it is metabolic in origin and not noise induced. I still believe though that even those with noise trauma can benefit from these changes, especially fasting as I personally know some people who have been treated for similar conditions (i.e. migraines).

The one thing I think people should be aware of is that significant or rapid weight loss can actually cause ETD. There are several reports available about increased risk of ETD while on aggressive diet plans so please keep this in mind. The good news is that the ETD is usually reversible by regaining some weight at which point you can slowly continue weight loss.

 

[AliasM]

Thanks for the info! I am overweight at 97 kg. I have just started 18/6 fasting - 11am-7pm and have cut all complex carbs. For now I will keep fruit, and sweet potato etc to keep my options open food wise. I hope it makes a difference. I saw one guy on YouTube does 23/1 fasting and his tinnitus went away. I need to learn more about the science behind fasting before I commit to some of the really radical fasting options like days long dry fasts.

 

[PeterPan]

Cause of tinnitus is not mentioned though.

The Effects of Diet and Physical Activity Induced Weight Loss on the Severity of Tinnitus and Quality of Life: A Randomized Controlled Trial

This is the type of study I've been looking for for a while . Looks like an average of -15 THI if you lose some weight (say 5%), eat well, and are obese. I wonder if you get a similar effect if you are overweight instead of obese. I also wonder about placebo effects.

I lost about 10% of my weight about 2 years ago, and I recall remembering that I felt I could live with tinnitus quite well during this period. Maybe we should all go on a diet .

 

[PeterPan]

Well, I've done a natural experiment by losing quite a bit of weight (got a few kilos to go). I'm now 75.9 kg (167 pounds for Americans) and my target is 74 kg. I've lost about 14% of my body weight. Below is weight graphs from 2012 to now (with a break while I was working overseas being the straight line ).

I've also been doing quite a bit of physical exercise. The green area is around mid 2019 and I recall that my tinnitus was a lot more tolerable around then. The red area is now. According to the study I should have lost about 15 THI.

Well, my tinnitus hasn't really changed. It MAY be the case that the act of dieting is quite stressful itself and once I have stabilized at a lower weight things will get better (I believe this may have been the case in 2019).

I'll let you guys know if I start seeing tinnitus related benefits!

 

[IntotheBlue03]

I lost 50 lbs prior to my onset of tinnitus and I was told that could be a cause because I did so in less than 6 months. Not really sure about this but go figure. Such a curse all of this is.