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Science Proves Antioxidants Help Reduce Tinnitus

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What is Environmental Health?
Toxins from the environment can enter and build up in our bodies, making us sick without knowing why. Today there are over 86,000 chemicals in our environment which may affect our health. This is why environmental health is a particular passion of mine. I want to help people be healthier, even in a complex and often toxic world. This is not so hard to do when you know how!

At Sound Therapy International we believe in empowering people to take care of their health naturally, at home. We provide tools, products and information to make this easy to do. In addition to helping with ear and brain health, having good nutritional supplementation and safe products for the home and bathroom can help with many health conditions. These may include learning difficulties, digestive issues, bone and joint pain, heart health, memory, tinnitus and dizziness to name just a few. Learn more about how to find the nutritional supplements that can help tinnitus here

Antioxidant studies
Excerpt from a paper by Paula Richards and Rafaele Joudry
Presented to Australian Audiological Society Conference Brisbane 2004

Ginkgo Biloba: Studies are ongoing and have been in progress for many years relating to the use of ginkgo biloba associated with tinnitus as well as hearing problems. Studies have been going on in France, Italy, Germany, Denmark as well as the U.S.A.; and you are all certain to be aware of Jastreboff’s studies with this herbal supplement. (Hazell, 1990)(Jastreboff, 1997)

The German Commission E, who is considered the world’s most knowledgeable body on herbal medicines, recommends EGb 761 (Ginkgo biloba) for the treatment of tinnitus. (Bumenthal, Busse, Goldberg, 1998)

There have been 19 clinical trials in Germany investigating the effects of tinnitus treatment with EGb 761. Investigations of prognostic factors revealed that short-standing disorders have a better prognosis; so better results can be expected from early-onset treatment. (Holstein, 2001)

A French multicenter randomized double-blind drug vs. placebo study of the treatment of tinnitus with (EGb 761) extract was very positive. Ten ENT specialists treated 103 tinnitus outpatients during a 13-month treatment period. They summarized that the (EGb 761) extract treatment improved the condition of all the tinnitus patients, irrespective of the prognostic factor. (Meyer, 1986)

A pharmacologic study in Denmark attributes that the therapeutic effect of ginkgo is based on several active constituents that have vasoactive and free radical scavenging properties. The Danish study also found ginkgo biloba to have a very tolerable side effect profile. (Soholm, 1998)

Curcumin

Tumeric is a spice that comes from the root Curcuma longa, a member of the ginger family. Curcumin, a yellow pigment from Curcuma longa, is a major component of turmeric and is commonly used as a spice and food-coloring agent. It is also used as a cosmetic and in some medical preparations.

A large number of studies on curcumin were identified. These included studies on the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and antifungal properties of curcuminoids.

The desirable preventive or putative therapeutic properties of curcumin have also been considered to be associated with its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Because free-radical-mediated peroxidation of membrane lipids and oxidative damage of DNA and proteins are believed to be associated with a variety of chronic pathological complications such as cancer, atherosclerosis, and neurodegenerative diseases, curcumin is thought to play a vital role against these pathological conditions. (Bharat, 2007.)
The laboratory studies have identified a number of different molecules involved in inflammation that are inhibited by curcumin including phospholipase, lipooxygenase, cyclooxygenase 2, leukotrienes, thromboxane, prostaglandins, nitric oxide, collagenase, elastase, hyaluronidase, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), interferon-inducible protein, tumor necrosis factor (TNF), and interleukin-12 (IL-12).
It has been found to be one of the most powerful antioxidant substances and is safe and effective for repairing free radical damage in humans. (Chainani-Wu, 2003.)

Because of its potent antioxidant properties, further research is warranted on the effectiveness of curcuminoids for tinnitus.

Finally, Vitamin A: A New York Otorhinolaryngologist, M. J. Lobel, was one of the first to demonstrate in 1949 that vitamin A is useful in treating human hearing loss and tinnitus. Between 1941 and 51, five experimental research studies were conducted into the correlation between the ear and vitamin A. Authors concluded vitamin A was a valuable therapeutic agent in the treatment of deafness and tinnitus. (Lobel, 1951)

Identical trials with 103 patients in 1952 by G. Nager concluded that vitamin A did accomplish an improvement in pure-tone hearing, improvement in speech perception and reduction of accompanying tinnitus. (Nager, 1952)

It is important to note that vitamin A can be toxic in large amounts (over 50,000 I.U. per day) and should be consumed in the form of beta-carotene, which the body then converts to vitamin A. (Diesel, 2002)

The trial period in the studies and product literature ranges between 60 to 120 days to determine if any result will be obtained. In many studies, extended trials gave even better results. The majority of recommendations for trial periods of the supplements were 90 days.

Most of these supplements include little or no side effects. As with any patient who is taking medications, they should be informed to check with their physician for any contraindications. However, caution must be exercised to warn patients who might be taking agents for blood-thinning such as coumadin or warfarin to check with their primary physician before taking Ginkgo Biloba.

Additionally, Ginkgo Biloba should be discontinued two weeks prior to any surgical procedure.

Of course, if any of your 60 to 80-year-old patients are pregnant, they should also check with their doctor.

Futuristic scientific research at Harvard Medical School involved reproducing mouse embryonic stem cells in culture that resemble sensory hair cells in the inner ear. These cells were transplanted into developing ears of chickens and appeared to be very similar to the chicken hair cells surrounding them. This technology may be used to treat disorders primarily due to cell degeneration, including hearing loss. (Cunningham, 2003) But not in the near future.

In summary, areas presented here today are non-intrusive methods that give some level of relief to most tinnitus sufferers.

In our practice, we recommend the combination of Sound Therapy and antioxidant supplements. This synergistic combination allows hearing health care professionals to offer an alternative path for their patients to follow in an effort to alleviate tinnitus suffering.

PRODUCT RECOMMENDATIONS
by Rafaele Joudry

Sound Therapy International recommends a combination of Feroxin and Revenol in combination with the Sound Therapy program. Feroxin provides a wide range of at least 60 minerals in a colloidal (liquid) form, derived from a natural source. These minerals assist with a wide range of body and brain functions, assisting the liver to detox so the body can more effectively utilize other nutrients.

Revenol is a powerful antioxidant formula containing several of the most powerful and effective natural antioxidants. The first generation, vitamins A, C, and E will work for three hours in the body. The second generation found in grape seed extract and pine bark extract and Ginkgo biloba will last two to three times longer. Third generation antioxidants, (curcuminoids) have now been discovered and will last for up to three days, cleaning your body of free radicals.

To learn more about how to obtain these products visit our environmental health page https://mysoundtherapy.com/what-is-sound-therapy/emotional-stress-relief/health-wellbeing-life/

REFERENCES:
• Seidman, Michael, M.D., F.A.C.S., Henry Ford Health System, U.S. A., Presentation at International Tinnitus Forum, Sep 23, 2000
• Wolgemuth, K. S., MSC, USN – Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory, Groton, CT., U.S.A.; Noise Protection Health Effects Reduction, presented at 2000 International Symposium on Noise-Induced Hearing Loss, Cambridge Univ., U.K., 7-10 July 2000
• Blumenthal, Busse, Goldberg, editors: The Complete Commission E Monographs: Integrative Medicine Communications, Boston, MA, U.S.A., 1998
• Meyer, B.; Multicenter randomized double-blind drug vs placebo study of the treatment of tinnitus with (EGb 761) extract, Presse Med 1986 Sep 25; 15(31):1562-4, PMID:2947100 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]
• Holstein, N.; Fortschr Med 2001 Jan 11;118(4):157-64, PMID:11217680 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]
• Jastreboff, P., Zhou, S., Jastreboff, M., Kwapisz, U., Gryezynska, U.; Attenuation of salicylate-induced tinnitus by ginkgo biloba extract in rats; Audiology and Neuro-Otology (Germany), 1997, 2/4 (197-212)
• Hazell, J.W.P., Jastreboff, P.J.; 1990 Tinnitus. I: Auditory Mechanisms: A Model for Tinnitus and Hearing Impairment. J. Otolaryngol., 19, 1-5
• Soholm, B.; Sano-Pharm A/S, Skelstedet 2A, DK-2950 Vedback, Denmark; Advances in Therapy, (U.S.A.), 1998, 15/1 (54-65)
• Ochi, K., Ohashi, T., et al; Serum Zinc Level in Patients With Tinnitus and the Effect of Zinc Treatment, Nippon Jibinkoka Gakkai Kaiho 1997 Sep; 100(0):915-9, PMID: 9339660 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]
• Li, H., Liu, H., Heller, S.; Nat Med 9:1293-1299
• Angerstein, E. M.; Garlic (allium sativum)—a potent medicinal plant, Fortschr Med (Germany) Jul 20, 1995, 113 (20-21) p 311-5
• Arda, H.N.; Tuncel, U.; Akdogan, O.; Ozluoglu, L.N.; Ankara Numune Research and Education Hospital, (Turkey) 2003, The Role of Zinc in the Treatment of Tinnitus, Otolog. & Neurotology, 24(1), 86-9, PMID: 9339660 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]
• Lobel, M. J.; Is hearing loss due to a nutritional deficiency? Further studies on the influence of vitamin A in certain types of impaired hearing, 1949, PMID: 14829122 [PubMed – OLDMEDLINE for Pre1966]
• Nager, G.; Results of vitamin A (Arovit-Roche) therapy of inner ear hearing disorders and tinnitus, 1952, PMID 13003737 [PubMed – OLDMEDLINE for Pre1966]
• Reinstra, Douwe, M.D.; Vitamin A, 2002
• Diesel, L.; The Role of Vitamin A in Hearing Loss and Tinnitus, 2003
• Sanders, B; New Tinnitus Research, Here it is!, Tinnitus Today, Sep 2002
• Cunningham, L., Friesen, L.; What are Stem Cells, and Can They Restore Hearing?, Audiology Today, Vol 16 Number 1, 2003
• Bharat B. Aggarwal, Young-Joon Surh and Shishir Shishodia. 2007. The Molecular Targets and Therapeutic Uses of Curcumin in Health and Disease. 10.1007/978-0-387-46401-5_3.
• Chainani-Wu, N. 2003. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. February 2003, 9(1): 161-168. doi:10.1089/107555303321223035.

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Tags: antioxidents, environmental health, nutrition, research, Supplements, tinnitus