| Bothered
by ringing in the ears? Officially called tinnitus,
it's like a high-pitched hum or tone similar to what
you hear after standing too close to a speaker at a
concert or after cranking up your headphones too loud
for too long.
Hearing
experts say tinnitus is caused by an inflammation of
the inner ear--the part that's the center for hearing
and balance. Inflammation can raise inner-ear pressure
and stimulate the auditory nerve, which the brain interprets
as sound.
If
you suffer from tinnitus on a regular basis, see your
doctor for a full exam and a hearing test to make sure
the ringing isn't a symptom of a much greater problem.
If you find that it's not, try some of these remedies.
The
American Academy of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck
Surgery suggest trying a hearing aid or white noise
device, limiting the amount of products you take that
contain aspiring (which can make symptoms worse for
some people), and cutting back on caffeine (which also
can irritate hearing cells).
According
to the American Dietetic Association, many studies also
have linked tinnitus to higher levels of insulin, so
eating a balanced diet and losing weight, plus limiting
salt intake, may help.
Higher
levels of fat in the blood also can cause malfunctions
in the inner ear, so reducing the amount of fatty foods
you eat (that's butter, cheese, and fried foods) could
reduce tinnitus.
Finally,
natural medicine experts also say some herbal anti-inflammatories,
such as curcumin, devil's claw, and bromelain, may help.
These come in tea, drop, and capsule form, and you can
find them where you buy suppmlements and vitamins. |