A new study, published in the American Journal of Medicine, looked at the relationship between caffeine intake and risk of tinnitus. Caffeine is a commonly consumed substance that has been thought to play a role in the development of tinnitus, but a prospective study has not been done. The research team aimed to fill this gap with a study that begin collecting data in 1991 and ended in 2009.

There were 65,085 women in the study. At the start, they were between the ages of 30 and 44 and did not have tinnitus. They completed questionnaires about lifestyle and medical history every two years and food frequency questionnaires every four years. In 2009, a questionnaire collected self-reported tinnitus data, including onset date.

According to U.S. News and World Report Health, the study showed that caffeine intake was correlated with a lower incidence of tinnitus. Women who consumed less than 150 mg a day of caffeine (found in about one-and-a-half 8-ounce cups of coffee) were 15 percent more likely to develop tinnitus than those who consumed 450 mg to 599 mg a day of caffeine.

Of course, people should not use this as a reason to consume large quantities of caffeine. Rather, it is another factor to balance into the equation. There are still adverse health consequences to consuming a large amount of caffeine. Symptoms of caffeine overdose can include rapid or dangerously erratic heartbeat, seizures, and death. Vomiting, diarrhea, stupor, and disorientation are also symptoms of caffeine toxicity.

Caffeine toxicity is much more severe when a person has ingested pure caffeine. In contrast, these symptoms are likely to be less pronounced when they are the result of drinking too much coffee, tea or other caffeinated beverages.