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A few days ago, a reader wrote in asking if there was anything he could do to silence the ringing in his ears. Unfortunately, he isn't alone. The ringing, known as tinnitus, affects about 10 percent of Americans over 40 - a figure that could rise dramatically as rock and roll baby boomers grow older.

Tinnitus can vary in intensity from an occasional awareness of background noise such as hissing, ringing, buzzing or clicking in one or both ears to a persistent noise that can drive you crazy! And, while medical science hasn't pinpointed an exact cause, there are several possible triggers for tinnitus, including ear or sinus infections, the buildup of ear wax, exposure to loud noises or the chronic use of medications like aspirin, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or certain antibiotics that can damage the inner ear.

Most doctors will tell you to learn to live with the noise because there isn't much modern medicine can do to stop the racket. But nature can offer some simple measures that just might quell the racket.

Diet Deficiencies

While you may not equate what you eat with what you hear, your diet can definitely impact tinnitus. People suffering from the disorder report that eliminating caffeine and reducing salt intake can help. Although the reports are mostly anecdotal, too much caffeine may constrict blood flow to the ear, while excessive salt leads to fluid retention, including in the inner ear.

It's also important to make sure you're getting enough magnesium. A sub clinical deficiency of magnesium might make you more susceptible to noise-induced hearing loss, suggest several animal studies and one human trial. And hearing loss and tinnitus often go together. A multi-vitamin or calcium supplement with magnesium can provide enough if you're just borderline deficient. If you need more, consider taking 400 mg. daily in supplemental form and load up on magnesium-rich foods like nuts and green leafy vegetables.

A vitamin B-12 deficiency can also negatively impact the auditory pathway. In one study of 113 soldiers, 47 percent of those with tinnitus were also lacking in vitamin B-12. Have your doctor test your levels and if needed, take a B complex. The B vitamins work in concert, so take them together.

Fans and Flowers

Some doctors - both conventional and integrative - recommend taking ginkgo biloba because a few small studies have found improved blood flow within the ear. Based on this data, this herb is approved for treating tinnitus in Europe. But recent studies involving large numbers of participants found that ginkgo won't stop the ringing. In one 12-week placebo controlled trial of more than 2,000 volunteers, British researchers found that ginkgo supplements at the standard dose of 150 mg. per day wasn't any more effective for tinnitus than a placebo.

That doesn't mean you should forget about herbal remedies. Vinpocetine is an over-the-counter supplement derived from periwinkle leaves that can quiet the noise within - especially if the tinnitus is caused by a high volume trauma. In one study, vinpocetine supplements taken within one week of trauma relieved the symptoms in half the subjects. Even in people with older injuries, vinpocetine eased the severity of the ringing and improved hearing in more than two-thirds of cases. Typically, people with tinnitus take 10 mg. of vinpocetine three times a day. And make sure you take it with food for best absorption. If you take it on an empty stomach, only 6.7 percent of vinpocetine is absorbed, but with food the absorption rate shoots up to 60 percent to 100 percent. It's also incredibly safe and the only side effects are occasional skin flushing or minor gastrointestinal upset in people taking larger than normal doses.

Zap Tinnitus with Zinc

Zinc supplements have been used to treat people who had both tinnitus and age-related hearing loss. In one trial, 25 percent of the participants with low blood levels of zinc experienced an improvement in tinnitus after taking 90 to 150 mg. of zinc for three to six months. But two other controlled clinical trials found no benefit from zinc supplementation in people with tinnitus. However, the participants in these studies were not zinc deficient. If you suspect a deficiency, a doctor can measure your blood levels of zinc.

Tinnitus is notoriously tough to treat, so don't expect it to disappear completely. Even measures that work may bring only slight improvement. Moreover, what works for one person may not work for the next, so you may have to experiment a bit. Other tinnitus treatments to try include biofeedback, relaxation training and acupuncture. But before self-treating, see your doctor to rule out treatable causes for the ringing, such as a tumor or Meniere's Disease.

One Last Thing . . .

Tinnitus often goes hand-in-hand with hearing loss. But before you get fitted for a hearing aid, try folic acid. According to Dutch researchers, taking a daily supplement of 800 mcg. of folic acid may help slow the hearing loss that typically accompanies aging. Those were the findings when they studied 728 men and women in their 50s and 60s with elevated blood levels of homocysteine.

During the three-year study, about half of the participants received a folic acid supplement- the other half got a placebo. People getting the supplemental folic acid experienced less hearing loss over time than those getting the placebo. And even though the difference in hearing loss was slight, the scientists suggest that the benefit could be significant by age 70 since hearing loss generally accelerates with age.

This Just In . . .

It seems like everyone is coming down with the flu this year. And you can be sure there's a bottle of elderberry syrup in my medicine cabinet. It's the No. 1 way to thwart a variety of influenza strains. But it might not be the only natural remedy to fight the flu. The Public Health Agency of Canada is set to study whether vitamin D could also protect us.

The department has commissioned a novel study into the possible link between the nutrient and flu in senior citizens, suggesting a shortage of vitamin-producing sunlight may make Canadians more susceptible to the virus. The study will look at whether a vitamin D deficiency makes seniors more susceptible to the flu, and whether patients' genetic makeup affects the seriousness of flu infections.

Scientists have long wondered why influenza is so much more common during winter months, with theories ranging from the effects of colder temperatures to the close proximity of people as they spend more time indoors. Another hypothesis points to the fact that vitamin D levels are lower in winter, when bodies absorb less of the sunlight that helps generate the nutrient. It's believed that the vitamin plays an important role in "innate" immunity, the body's generic, hard-wired defenses against infection.

Although the possible connection is still very much in question, a recently published U.S. study suggested that taking large doses of the substance might be a dramatically effective shield against influenza. The study by researchers at Winthrop University Hospital in New York was designed to investigate Vitamin D and bone loss in post-menopausal black women. What they found was that women taking a placebo were more than three times as likely to get the flu or colds as those on vitamin D.

Even if the theory doesn't pan out, vitamin D is critical to good health - and most of us don't get enough. Recently, scientists have recommended taking 1,000 to 1,500 IU of vitamin D daily as protection against a variety of cancers - especially if you don't get much sun exposure or routinely wear sunscreen. Who knows? It just might be the brightest way you'll ever find to avoid the flu bug.

References:

Coelho CB, Tyler R, Hansen M. "Zinc as a possible treatment for tinnitus." Progress in Brain Research. 2007-166:279-285.

Drew S, Davies E. "Effectiveness of Ginkgo biloba in treating tinnitus: double blind, placebo controlled trial." British Medical Journal. 2001-322:73.

Durga J, Verhoef P, Anteunis L, et al. "Effects of Folic Acid and Supplementation on Hearing in Older Adults: A randomized, controlled trial." Annals of Internal Medicine. 2007-146.

Konopka W, Zalewski P, Olszewski J, et al. "Treatment results of acoustic trauma." Otolaryngologica Polska. 1997-51 Suppl 25:281-284.

Shemesh Z, Attias J, Ornan M, et al. "Vitamin B12 deficiency in patients with chronic-tinnitus and noise-induced hearing loss." American Journal of Otolaryngology. 1993-14:94-99.