I thought that I would pass this along. It will not match everyone’s problem, but it might help a few.
A while ago there was a discussion about tinnitus. Yes, I had developed tinnitus but I had no idea why nor what I could do about it. I did observe, however, that after eating hot spicy spaghetti with a big glass of red wine that my tinnitus went away temporarily (but returned in the morning). I said that if I ever got to the bottom of this (was it the wine, was it the spices in the spaghetti sauce?) that I would post the solution, well, here it is!
My tinnitus occurs as a result of raised blood pressure (BP), this was probably due to my being slightly overdosed on T3 – just slightly, I am very sensitive and any deviation from my optimal dose gives me bad symptoms.
I have discovered that it was the garlic in the spaghetti sauce that lowered my blood pressure and hence temporarily rid me of tinnitus!
I have now started to put a lot of garlic in my food and I have also bought a food supplement called “Garlique” which is an odorless form of garlic. This has dropped my BP by about 55 points (to 140/70). True, I am still not 120/80 but it is a hell of a lot better than 195/70 which I measures one evening – which scared me to death. Just by sheer good fortune I ran into a neighbour who had a similar problem but whose sister was a professor of nutrition and she put him onto garlic to reduce his BP. It suddenly all fell into place – there was a spice in my spaghetti sauce, but which one? Garlic, Russia’s antibiotic, was the operative!
And so there you are, I hope this helps someone.
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Thank you for posting, interesting! Afew weeks ago my tinnitus stopped for a week so I'm asking myself why! Well also had my bloods done a little earlier and my FT3 was higher than I've ever known it to be and I was feeling pretty good. Very disappointed that it gradually came back but in the meantime I joined a tinnitus group thinking I would get many suggestions to work through. I couldn't remember when it started but said I was a senior with an underactive thyroid. I only got one reply and that was someone else with a thyroid problem but again no suggestions. I have had a spell where both was very low but no change so I can only conclude that we are all different.
My FT3 didn't, in my opinion, leave enough room to justify an increase but I have wondered whether to reduce very slightly and see what that does. Currently on 2 grains NDT one day then 1.75 the next two do I was thinking of adding in another 1.75 day. Not tried yet as forgot to take meds one day!
Fantastic post about TINNITUS... thank you for posting ... I will also try some garlic!! I have loud tinnitus all the time just now and pain in one ear quite often/ lymph gland in one ear.. gp referred me to audiology. Xxx
Thanks for sharing your experience. I suspect I have hypothyroidism; but, I have yet to have a physician agree with me. My TSH level increased from 1.5 to 2.1 to 3.0 in the past year. I developed tinnitus, a swollen tongue, dry mouth and fatigue 6 months ago. I don't have high blood pressure; but, I am going to try the garlic to see if it alleviates the tinnitus. I'll repost if garlic works for me.
The swollen tongue makes me think that you should check out your nutrient levels. Thyroid has a lot to do with swollen tongue, but getting nutrients to good levels has a big impact too.
To start with, look into vitamin B12, vitamin D, folate, ferritin, and iron.
Thanks for your reply. My B12, D and follate levels were in the average range. Ferritin and iron levels were not tested; so, I will request those tests.
If you were told by a doctor that the results were average, that isn't sufficient. To a doctor, anything in the reference range is average. But the reference range does not give you optimal levels. Ask for the results of the tests you've been given including the reference ranges and post them in a new post. Ask for feedback.
Don't be surprised if your doctor won't test both iron and ferritin (iron stores), they may just do one of them. Or they may test neither and test hemoglobin instead. Keep your fingers crossed though.
Thanks for your advice and for the "heads up" that the doctor might not order the tests. I'll create a new post with my test results and ask for input form the Thyroid community. In the meantime, I'm going to start taking an iron supplement.
CASeaBreeze As too much iron can be as bad as too little, it's better to get tested before starting iron supplements. Also, if not dire, levels can be improved by eating liver regularly. I can't tolerate iron supplements and have managed to raise my ferritin level from under 50 to about 90 just by eating liver once a week.
thanks- very interesting! I don't need much of an excuse to eat more garlic. I'm convinced by tinnitus only stopped after taking significant dose of B12, mine was just in one ear, more of a chinking that a flat noise, I did not like it one bit.
I am intrigued by your post, as the doctor's don't seem to know what might be causing my tinnitus. Interestingly it did get worse when my blood pressure pill was changed temporarily. This was only to see if my original tablet was causing skin inflammation. It appears not, so I'm back on the original pill, and the tinnitus has subsided a bit. I will definitely give this garlic a try. Where do you buy the supplement please?
Hi MariLiz, I am in the US and Garlique is in any pharmacy/chemist and I am sure you can get it similarly OTC in Britain. If you can't get it at your local chemist, I looked it up on Google and there are many references. But, you know, garlic in your food is just as effective. I just bought a pill because it stops me having to think of what shall cook for dinner tonight that I can pile the garlic into. BTW, some people in some countries are able to chew raw pieces of garlic: DONT TRY THIS if you are not used to it - I did, it was awful, it'll blow your head off!
I'm a huge garlic fan, and I will chew garlic if I'm getting a cold or sore throat. It can hurt a lot, but you kind of start to tolerate it.
I believe from experience that if you have inflammation or an infection it will hurt a lot, but if not it won't be as bad. I sometimes use it to check if a little tickle in my throat is going to be serious. If the garlic isn't painful, it's a false alarm.
But the same amount of raw garlic chopped into a salad is much more convenient and doesn't hurt at all, so is usually easier.
"If the garlic isn't painful, it's a false alarm", that is a really important observation! There have been experiments done on suppression of the immune system when it is fighting off an infection or inflammation and it was found that when the immune system is working without being impeded the patient is very miserable, often in pain but gets cured. When the immune system is suppressed the patient is "comfortable" and in no pain or very little pain - but, of course, not getting much better.
These experiments have been done a number of ways but the one I am familiar with was the one where the patient (who must be fighting off an illness) was shielded from environmental electromagnetic radiation - from cell phone towers, radio waves and other radiative sources in our environment, including the natural ones and then shielding was taken away. When the patient was shielded, i.e. their immune system was allowed to work unimpeded, they were in considerable pain and suffered, but got better quickly, i.e. their immune system won and quickly. When the shielding was removed the suffering ceased, but the illness remained, i.e. the immune system was held back by the radiation.
If I can resurrect this paper I will post it, it was a real eye opener. It is a bit of a brain twister, you have to read it a couple of times - remembering that the suffering is the GOOD part because it is the healing process.
Recently visited my environmental doctor (mold exposure) and he said I had the "triad" of mercury poisoning. (Tinnitus, tension esp neck and shoulders, and thyroid dysfunction) so he tested me for mercury and it was high as was cadmium. In addition to chelation medicine he also wants me on garlic oil (not the odorless kind) so this post is interesting. I have very low blood pressure and actually take a med to raise my bp.
I wish I could find a cure for my tinnitus, it does drive me mad! My reliefs are a hearing aid on one side, my tinnitus is very loud on that side, so much so I don't notice the other side much. I also have a MP3 of water on a pebbly beach to go to sleep with.
My hearing aid was after I was referred to ENT for checking as tinnitus was one sided. They then referred me on to the tinnitus clinic and they fitted me with a hearing aid.
Thanks for that. I'm tinnitus person too since thyroid issues. I am also taking less b12 at the moment trying to wean off so I can have a true blood test, but a rise in my tinnitus has coincided with stopping b12. Could be coincidence. I will up the garlic. Happy tinnitus-free christmas to you 😃
My tinnitus, like yours, seems to go when I take more Levothyroxine, but then I can end up feeling a bit over-medicated, it seems to be a very fine balance for me.
Hi, well I definitely going to try this.will let you know. I have noticed since I have been taking vitamin d b and d, that this has helped too.merry Christmas to everyone.
Great work! I've had tinnitus for 40 years and still haven't figured it out (does get worse with higher BP, but still moderately there when I'm 110/70, sigh).
Thanks for post. I have suffered with tinnitus for a long long time but noticed recently it was getting more noticeable even when watching the TV. Will give the garlic a go as it is supposed to be good for you anyway. I have been on K2 for a couple of years or more and that made no difference.
I've had tinnitus since June. Had it temporarily twice before but it went away once I got diagnosed and treated.
Cutting a very long story short, I've been told it's now due to a tiny bit of high frequency hearing loss. I was fitted with two hearing aids on Wednesday morning. Wednesday afternoon, no tinnitus \o/ But yesterday and today, the aids are not removing all of it. And lots of things are now irritatingly too loud.
That's really interesting as I've had tinnitus forever and I wish I could be free of it, if only for a while. My blood pressure hardly ever reaches 120/80, it's usually 112/75 and I'm 65, eat garlic almost every day and as I'm married to an Italian, spaghetti is always on the menu. I wish I knew why I have this because it can be pretty depressing at times.
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