The connection may not be immediately obvious in the beginning, but nutrition can have a significant influence on the severity of the tinnitus, at least at times. On has to remember that tinnitus is a nervous condition, and many substances in food and drinks can affect the nervous system one way or another. Generally speaking, substances that stimulate the nervous system will aggravate the condition, those that calm it will alleviate it. So for most people it is for instance advisable to avoid caffeine (coffee, tea, cola and related stimulants), but also alcohol (which is also a nerve stimulant). With drinks it is thus rather straightforward: avoid caffeine and alcohol, but on the other hand drink enough fluid to prevent any dehydration (which would aggravate the condition as well). With food the situation is slightly more complicated: generally, it is advisable to reduce the amount of salt and other spices, as these tend to affect the nervous system and thus the tinnitus as well. This may be relatively easy to control if one does the cooking by oneself, but in case of restaurant- or instant food this is not always possible. So it is not uncommon that people complain about an increase of their tinnitus after being out for a meal. A frequent culprit here is for instance the flavour enhancer Monosodium Glutamate (an amino acid) which is frequently used in Asian cooking, Pizzas and other snack foods, Instant Soups and Sauces etc. For packaged food it should be designated there, usually as 'Flavour Enhancer', 'Monosodium Glutamate' or with the code 'E621'. In restaurants however it may well not be mentioned on the menu, so you might have to ask beforehand in order to find out. Anyway, even if one happens to consume something that aggravates the tinnitus, the effect should only last for a couple of days at best. Just try to figure out what could have been responsible and eliminate this particular food for a while. It may take a while, but with a little bit of experimenting in this sense, one can thus minimize any adverse effect of nutrition. Thomas

While antidepressants or tranquilizers are in general not required for a treatment of tinnitus, there may be cases where it makes sense to take them at least for a while. I get many reports from people who, especially in the early phase of the tinnitus, suffer from severe anxiety and depression due to the condition, which in turn then can further aggravate the tinnitus, thus leading to a vicious circle. Anti-anxiety drugs like Xanax, Temazepam or others can well help to break this vicious circle if taken for a while (a few weeks). But as these drugs can have considerable side effects and make dependent in the long term, it should really be only the last resort if one can't see any other way to cope with the condition. If you feel you are in this situation, don't hesitate to ask your doctor for a possible prescription of something suitable in this sense (note that antidepressants and tranquilizers should only be taken under strict medical supervision). Note also that in some cases these (like many other) drugs can actually make the tinnitus worse. In that case one should obviously stop taking them and look for alternatives. Thomas