Tinnitus is the the sensation of ringing or buzzing in the ear without there actually being an external sound source contributing to the sound. It can be a result of multiple instances of disturbance within the ear such as broken or damaged cilia (hair) on the auditory cells of the inner ear, or due to turbulence in a carotid artery or jugular vein. It can also be caused due to problems in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) or in the the auditory processing pathways of the brain.

Tinnitus is not a condition on its own, and is often a non-emergent symptom of underlying age-related hearing loss, ear injury or a circulatory system disorder. It has an approximately 1 in 5 presence in the American population, commonly affecting females. Treating the underlying can be effective, and options exist to mask the noise to make it less bothersome.

A new study published in the American Journal of Medicine found that higher intake of caffeine was associated with a lower incidence of tinnitus in younger and middle-aged women. The study was lead by Dr. Gary Curhan, a physician-researcher of the Channing Division of Network Medicine at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.

The study followed 65 085 women between the ages of 30 and 44 years old for a period of 18 years. The participants were tinnitus-free at the inception of the study in 1991, and were requested to intermittently submit their self-reported lifestyle and medical histories at regular time intervals for the study. At the conclusion of the 18 years, researchers reported 5,289 cases of tinnitus in the study population.

The results of the study showed a 15 percent lower incidence of tinnitus in participants who consumed caffeine at an intake of 450 to 599 mg/day, as opposed to those who consumed an intake of less 150 mg/day, with no varied results for age. 150 mg/day is the equivalent of approximately one 8-ounce cup of coffee, which was reported as the main source of caffeine for participants.

“We observed  significant inverse association between caffeine intake and the incidence of tinnitus among these women,” reported Dr. Cunha. “We know that caffeine stimulates the central nervous system and previous research has demonstrated that caffeine has a direct effect on the inner ear in both bench science and animal studies,” he commented further.

The researchers identified that since their study only elucidated the relationship between the incidence of tinnitus and caffeine intake in women, it was limited in being able to make recommendations for using caffeine as a treatment to improve symptoms. They highlighted the need for studies eliciting the direct effect of caffeine on the physical mechanisms of tinnitus to be able to make such clinical recommendations.