A Prospective Study of Caffeine Intake and Risk of Incident Tinnitus

Abstract

Background Caffeine is a commonly consumed substance that has long been thought to play a role in the development of tinnitus, but prospective data are lacking. We prospectively evaluated the association between caffeine intake and self-reported tinnitus in a female cohort. Methods Participants were 65,085 women in the Nurses Health Study II, aged 30–44 years and without tinnitus at baseline in 1991, who completed questionnaires about lifestyle and medical history every two years and food frequency questionnaires every four years. Information on self-reported tinnitus and date of onset was obtained from the 2009 questionnaire, with cases defined as those reporting experiencing symptoms “a few days/week” or “daily.” Multivariable adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) were calculated using Cox proportional hazards regression models. Results At baseline the mean age of the cohort was 36.3 years and the mean caffeine intake was 242.3 mg/day. After 18 years of follow-up, 5,289 incident cases of tinnitus were reported. There was a significant inverse association between caffeine intake and the incidence of tinnitus. Compared with women with caffeine intake less than 150 mg/day (150 mg corresponds to approximately one 8 ounce cup of coffee), the multivariable adjusted hazard ratios were 0.85 (95% CI 0.76–0.95) for those who consumed 450–599 mg/day and 0.79 (0.68–0.91) for those who consumed 600mg/day or more. Conclusion In this prospective study higher caffeine intake was associated with a lower risk of incident tinnitus in women.

Prevalence and Determinants of Tinnitus in the Italian Adult Population

“…Knowledge on the burden of tinnitus in the general adult population comes from a few large prospective studies, mostly from northern Europe and the United States, providing data on tinnitus incidence [5,6,7]. To our knowledge, only 20 previous studies from 14 countries reported information on adult tinnitus prevalence using surveys recorded at a national or sub-national level.…”

Outcomes of Triple-Combination Therapy for Chronic Tinnitus

“…However, the role of the sex difference on tinnitus loudness and annoyance is still inconclusive (14,15). Also, higher caffeine intake may reduce the risk of tinnitus in women (5). On the contrary, the acute effects of caffeine withdrawal may add to the burden associated with tinnitus (21).…”

“…For example, age, gender, hearing loss and tinnitus duration were associated with tinnitus-related loudness and/or distress (3,4). Increased caffeine intake has been demonstrated to be associated with a lower risk of tinnitus in women (5).…”

Do dietary factors significantly influence tinnitus?

“…In three observational studies, higher caffeine intake was associated with a lower prevalence of tinnitus. 10,34,35 Of course, a causal relationship for a protective effect of caffeine against neuro-otological problems cannot be deduced from these observations.…”