Tinnitus and sulphites

[Alikatte123]

Has anyone found that after eating foods containing sulphites their tinnitus gets worse..? I am also thinking that sodium laurel sulphate in hair dye, toothpaste, hair shampoo & conditioner possibly makes it worse too. Would be interested to know if anyone else has any experience of this. Thanks.

[Vibe19]

I was diagnosed with sulphite sensitivity in 2010 - not seen any mention of it in forums. A sensitivity causes asthma attacks, coughing fits and swelling. If it caused nasal symptoms it might aggravate tinnitus. Sulphites are present in a lot of foods and undeclared. Reactions are unusual - you might get away with half a glass of wine - but not on two consecutive days.

[Alikatte123 in reply to Vibe19]

Thanks for your reply. I have asthma and looking at a leaflet from allergy UK it is known that asthma suffers are more likely to suffer from an intolerance to sulphites. Unfortunately just a couple of sips of wine make my cheeks flush and make me feel dreadful, so unfortunately wine's a no no for me. I am being referred to a dietician for advise about my intolerance to sulphites. I would be grateful if you could let me know how you were diagnosed as having this sensitivity?

[Vibe19 in reply to Alikatte123]

I was referred to allergy service - consultant took history and bloods to rule out other issues. Through elimination diet discovered I was intolerant to soya. So it was worth going through the extreme diet. I don't drink would rather have chocolate regularly

[Alikatte123 in reply to Vibe19]

Many thanks. I'll try and get the dietician to refer me to an allergy clinic when I see them.

[starveycat]

Salt us the biggest no no I know of

[Alikatte123 in reply to starveycat]

That's interesting. I'm not a heavy user of salt, but maybe I should cut back on what I do use. Thanks for replying.

[Alikatte123 in reply to starveycat]

Hi, I have found out from the doctor that tinnitus can indeed be caused by a salt imbalance in our diets. Either too much or too little. I have not added salt to my food for years, thinking I'd get enough from the processed foods I eat. I recently started a low carb diet and was preparing all my food from scratch. After a week I had lost 5lbs in a week and the week after that my weight loss had leveled out but I also noticed I was severely constipated. After showing a friend my food diary she noticed I was not adding any salt to my cooking. The result - severe constipation, my body not retaining water, (I was going for a wee 15mins after drinking), and heightened tinnitus.

So thank you for your post, as this was one of the things that made it click with me that salt might be the problem. I've upped my salt intake, my bowels are back to a healthy state, I'm retaining the water I drink and I have noticed that my tinnitus does get better after eating a packet of crisps although it's not a total cure it is alot better!!! Thanks again

[Margo]

My tinnitus is definitely worse after the wine.....that said it is bad today and haven't had a glass for 3 days!!!

[Alikatte123]

Wine is a complete no go area for me. Flushed cheeks and generally feeling unwell. Maybe you could try cutting out wine for a couple of weeks to see if it makes any difference. Thanks for replying.

[lulu2608]

Mine's worse after a lot of sugar, e.g. hot chocolate or I had syrup on porridge recently. I don't know where I'd get sulphites!