Tinnitus Experiment/Potential Fix — Ketogenic/Paleo Diet & Ceasing Sexual Activity

Hey guys, I've been reading many things about tinnitus because I acquired it a little over a month ago. My parents and brother all have it. My dad said he had it for 20 years, and then he did the Paleo/AIP diet for a couple of months, and it went away. But he dropped the diet later on, and it came back. My mom and brothers are both related to their neck positions, and my brother said he's had it as long as he can remember, and he's 23. I hope my case isn't permanent because the sounds change in type and volume nearly daily, and it's "random." The only consistent thing is that it is best when standing up, worse when lying down, and worse when lying with my ear on my pillow (so all other sound is blocked out).

I'm a 25-year-old male with a master's degree in industrial engineering, and I randomly woke up with it one day without exposure to loud sounds or anything like that. I'd been dealing with some other weird issues through mid-January and was in the hospital for four days. After all sorts of hospital testing, everything was "normal," so they sent me home. I noticed one day after taking a Benzo class drug that the tinnitus cut to like 1/3rd intensity, which I thought was odd. It turns out that medication class binds to something in your brain called GABA receptors, but using benzos long term can screw you up, so you want to be careful with them. GABA is a calming neurotransmitter that is supposed to balance out with another neurotransmitter called Glutamate, an excitatory transmitter. The only thing I could think of that could have caused issues was chronic stress since the past year of my life was the most stressful one I've ever had. Sure enough, I read that a GABA/Glutamate imbalance can be caused by chronic stress, which can lead to all sorts of crazy issues.

I've read that many people with tinnitus find relief from magnesium, which binds to your GABA receptors, so it makes sense. Supplements didn't work/make a difference for me, though: I tried Magnesium Glycinate, Zinc, Vitamin B12, Vitamin K, Omega-3 fatty acids, and something called Taurine, an amino acid. Taurine made my tinnitus worse, but many people said it helped them. Other things I've read may help are L-Theanine and Lithium, but I'm now done with the supplement route.

The Ketogenic/Paleo diet is supposed to remove many foods that are high in Glutamate or lead to high Glutamate production, which is why I'm testing it out and what I think maybe the source for me. I will also cut out foods that may be "healthy" but are higher in Glutamate, such as tomatoes, broccoli, and mushrooms.

This is deadly serious, but something else I noticed after testing it a handful of times to verify it (because I thought "there's no way" at first) is that orgasm makes my tinnitus worse (or may even be part of what started it) so I'm taking a break from sexual activity for a while. I don't understand how or why this works, but I read a few cases of some people's tinnitus disappearing after ceasing sexual activity for a while, so I'm not alone, lol.

I'll update you guys if it goes away.

Many things can cause tinnitus, so try to pinpoint your cause and try things based on that. If you feel yours is related to hearing loss, the Taurine would be a good test because, based on what I read, it can potentially reverse it with no adverse side effects taken in reasonable doses.

 

Oddly enough sex seems to exacerbate my tinnitus as well.

I've been on a paleo diet for 10 years now with vitamins that I'm trying to drop, but the tinnitus emerged just last year (for the 1st time) as I changed my diet out of necessity from saturated high fats (like cheese) to cholesterol lowering fats like tahini. I may have a unique case, not sure.