Nutrients That Can Support Your Hearing Health

Your hearing health is just as essential to your overall health and wellbeing as diet, exercise, and adequate rest, although many individuals may not realize it. Your hearing health affects not only your physical safety immediately by situating you in your environment and regulating your sense of balance, it also impacts your emotional, psychological, and cognitive well-being. Adding nutrients that support hearing health to your diet is one way to help your hearing.

Research has come to prove beyond a doubt that various vitamins, minerals, herbs, and dietary supplements reduce the risk of hearing loss and tinnitus.

Vitamins and Minerals

Some nutrients that support hearing health include:

  • Folate is a B vitamin essential to cell division and the creation of DNA. Folate is commonly found in nuts, beans, and vegetables, and many foods like bread and cereal are fortified with folic acid.
  • Other B vitamins, such as B6 and B12, have also been proven to affect your hearing health positively.
  • Carotenoids are both an antioxidant and a provitamin. They are yellow, red, or orange and are found in plants, fruits, grains, and oils.
  • Omega-3 fatty acids cannot be produced by your body. In fact, they can only be ingested from foods such as fish. They are essential to the functioning of various organs and systems in your body.
  • Zinc deficiencies can play a role in contributing to tinnitus. Stabilizing the amount of zinc in your system can help relieve the symptoms of tinnitus. If you have tinnitus and your zinc levels are already normal, increasing your zinc intake will not provide any additional benefit.
  • Magnesium may also likely reduce the severity of tinnitus. However, more research is needed before definitive conclusions can be drawn.

Other Herbal Remedies and Supplements

Other nutrients that support hearing health include the following:

  • Vinpocetine (VPC) is used to counteract the effects of a wide variety of disorders, such as memory loss, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease. It is a synthetic derivative similar to the compound found in the periwinkle plant.
  • Ginseng has been used in China for centuries and is believed to reduce tinnitus symptoms and even improve hearing loss.
  • Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is an antioxidant your body makes on its own, but the amount of CoQ10 that your body produces diminishes with age. It reduces blood pressure, treats migraines, and improves overall physical performance.
  • Ginkgo biloba is perhaps the most commonly used supplement in the world. It comes from a tree and is believed to improve almost every aspect of your body’s healthy functioning, including hearing.
  • Melatonin is the hormone that regulates your circadian clock, which determines the schedule and quality of your sleep. Tinnitus can make sleep difficult, and not sleeping can increase the severity of tinnitus. Melatonin can help reduce the severity of this vicious circle.

But The Answer Is Never So Simple

All of the vitamins, minerals, herbs, and supplements listed above may help your hearing health. But our bodies are complex systems, and there is rarely a simple answer. Vitamin C, for example, is obviously very good for you in many ways. Yet too much vitamin C can actually have detrimental effects on your hearing health. And while supplements such as Ginkgo biloba, melatonin, or zinc can help, none of them would be enough on their own. There is no replacement for the guidance of a specialist to determine the exact treatment course most beneficial to your unique case.

In fact, many healthcare professionals recommend that people proceed with great caution when taking on a new supplement. Taken irresponsibly or without the support of a healthy lifestyle, supplements can actually do greater damage than good. The truth is right there in the word: supplement. These products are not replacements for other healthy lifestyle choices. They supplement it.

If you suspect that you are experiencing hearing loss, do not delay. Make an appointment with one of our specialists today to get a full exam. There is no reason to risk your overall quality of life by not taking immediate action.