Vitamin D plays a critical role in preserving bone health and in the intestinal absorption of other vital nutrients such as calcium, magnesium and phosphate. But, could a deficiency cause Tinnitus? Can taking Vitamin D resolve or improve the ringing in your ears. Let’s explore.
How Vitamin D Affects Your Ears and Your Tinnitus?
Vitamin D levels in your body decide how much calcium is absorbed by your intestines. This Harvard study concluded that only 10% to 15% of dietary calcium was absorbed when Vitamin D levels were poor. A normal absorption rate is much higher at 30% to 40%. In other words, your body may not have enough calcium to use even if you are consuming a calcium rich diet, because of low Vitamin D levels.
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How Low Vitamin D Leads to Low Calcium that then Affects Your Ears?
1 Affects ear bone health
First, it can lead to a decrease in bone mass or a softening of your bones. This loss of bone mass can affect the small bones in your ear. These bones are called Anvil (Incus), a middle ear bone, the Hammer (malleus), a bone attached to the eardrum and Stirrup (staples), a bone that connects the middle ear with the inner ear. These bones vibrate to sounds you hear and pass on vibrations that are then converted into neurological signals for the brain. A deterioration of these bones will then affect hearing health, potentially causing deafness or hearing loss.
2 Affects ear muscle health
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Besides being responsible for bone mass, calcium plays a vital role in how well your muscles contract. There are two small muscles in your ear called tensor tympani and stapedius. The role of these muscles is to protect the ear against loud noises. They do this by contracting the muscles to inhibit or suppress vibrations felt in the ear bones. Without proper Vitamin D levels, the resulting low calcium levels can adversely affect this muscle function. You are then potentially exposed to hearing loss as a result of exposure to loud noises, a very common cause of Tinnitus.
Your muscles being affected by low calcium levels is described by a condition called Hypocalcemia. It causes neuromuscular irritability. If you suffer from this condition, you may have frequent muscle twitches, cramps or spasms.
Also Read: Can Vitamin B12 Help with Tinnitus?
Can Vitamin D Supplementation Help Me with my Tinnitus?
This small study examined the effects of vitamin D supplementation on 35 people, 85% of whom had Tinnitus. After 3 months of oral supplementation, participants reported a reduction in Tinnitus intrusiveness scores from scores of 3,2,1,4 to 1,2 and 3, with no one scoring themselves as a 4 or higher, after Vitamin D supplementation. If Vitamin D supplementation can indeed help you with your Tinnitus, you can look out for these Tinnitus going away signs after beginning your Vitamin D regiment.
How Much Vitamin D Should You Take?
This depends on your blood work. Vitamin D levels are quantified as a (OH)D score. A doctor will assess your scores and then prescribe you supplements that you will take orally. If your Vitamin D levels are very low, you might be given high levels of initial supplementation that is then tapered down to lower levels as your levels normalize. In some cases, your doctor might advise you to take an intramuscular injection of Vitamin D to quickly boost very poor baseline levels.
Vitamin D Levels in your body
- Normal = 25 (OH)D or higher
- Low = 20 to 25 (OH)D
- Deficient = Less than 25 (OH)D
Can I Get Vitamin D from Sunlight Alone?
It is possible to get enough Vitamin D from exposure to sunlight alone. But, with most people spending their life indoors, this can be difficult to achieve. This Healthline article recommends exposure of arms, legs, abdomen and back (without sunscreen) to sunlight for a period of 10 to 15 minutes a day, 2-3 times per week. Additional exposure may not necessarily provide additional benefits. Prolonged exposure to sunlight without sunscreen also presents sunburn and melanoma (skin cancer) as a risk. One should also note that Vitamin D will not be absorbed if you wear sunscreen. If you need to spend additional time outdoors, it is recommended that you wear a sunscreen 15 minutes before heading out.
Where you live also affects how much Vitamin D you can absorb with exposure to sunlight. While there is ample sunlight in tropical regions, quality of sunlight might be poor or even largely absent in colder regions.
This is why most people who need Vitamin D supplementation resort to supplements instead of trying to figure out an optimal exposure to sunlight.
But, too much Vitamin D supplementation is also bad. In some cases, it can actually worsen your Tinnitus. We discuss that next.
Over Supplementation or Vitamin D Toxicity
Taking more than 4,000 IU of Vitamin D daily can result in Vitamin D toxicity. This can then result in a number of side effects including; Tinnitus (Worsening), vertigo, fatigue, metallic taste and bone pain. Chronic toxicity of Vitamin D can lead to kidney damage and even kidney failure.
It is therefore imperative that you let your doctor decide an optimal Vitamin D supplementation plan for you.
Also Read: Ginkgo Biloba for Tinnitus
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