Tinnitus Forum - Mytinnitus

hello,

I've had tinnitis now for 15 weeks. It was worse the first two weeks, but I did not see significant improvement until a few weeks ago, around the three month mark.  I have made significant changes to my diet- salt reduction, caffeine reduction (I still drink green tea, usually twig or kukicha which is very low caffeine), eating more vegetables and fruits and less processed food. I have also reduced wheat intake significantly as i thought maybe i had a gluten allergy. I have been using relaxation techniques to reduce stress and was seeing a massage therapist at first but more recently a physiotherapist to work the tension out of my body with trigger point therapy, especially to neck, shoulders, and back. I have been trigger point myself to tight muscles in my jaw and face.

Anyway, while my tinnitus started out at loudness level 4 I would say, on a range of 1 to 5, by the second week it was down to level 3.  After that it seemed to alternate between level 2,3, and 4 for the next couple months, until a few weeks ago it seemed to readjust itself down again to a level 2.  Within the last few weeks there have been limited times when it went back up to 3, but there have also been times when it went down to level 1.  I'm trying to figure out if there is a particular trigger for these changes or if they are just random variation. At the moment one of my current theories is how much sugar I'm eating may be having an effect. I had reduced significantly my sugar intake, but was allowing myself honey and maple syrup, though just in the last couple days I have decided to limit my intake of these sweeteners as well to see if this has a positive impact on tinnitus.  I'm wondering how sugar might be causing a problem and I wonder if it might not be the sugar itself but actually yeast which is the problem as it feeds on sugar. Right before the tinnitus started I had been eating a lot of nutritonal yeast and I'm wondering if maybe my high yeast and sugar diet has caused a yeast overgrowth or candidiasis. I'm not really familiar with this condition, but from what I have gleaned from the internet there are people who think it can cause tinnitus in certain cases.

Anyway, I will let you know whether a serious reduction in sugar and increase in yogurt intake (yogurt without added fruit or sugar) helps to readjust tinnitus down at all.  At first I thought my tinnitus was noise induced, I was subjected to distressingly loud music in the car a few days before I got tinntius, but the ENT didn't think it was related. If he is right, I cannot think of how else my tinnitus has come about as I feel I have ruled out muscle tension and TMJ or a  dental problem. My understanding is stress by itself could not have caused the tinnitus, unless if you think that stress along with diet contributed to yeast overgrowth in body which caused the tinnitus.

Jess