Celiac Disease And Tinnitus

[Roy 43]

Does anyone know of any correlation between celiac disease and tinnitus.

I would be grateful for any information.

Thanks

Roy

[Fiddle-Faddle]

Yes, there can be a correlation.

Celiacs tend to have nutritional deficiencies due to malabsorption, and vitamin B12 deficiency in particular can cause tinnitus, sporadic hearing loss, headaches, dizziness, etc.

Those symptoms together, by the way, tend to be labeled as "Meniere's Disease," but if you look up some Meniere's support sites, there are always several threads on celiac, wheat allergy, etc. Meniere's Disease is not a true "Disease" but a syndrome--a collection of symptoms of unknown origan, which doctors insist on calling "Idiopathic," which is supposed to make it sound like a real, treatable-with-medication-disease, but literally means that they don't know what it is.

Another risk factor for B12 deficiency is long-term use of acid blockers. GERD and reflux seem to be very common complaints amongst celiacs, and these days, you don't even need a prescription to take Prilosec, Zantac, etc, and those are very effective acid blockers--so effective, they block the acid that you NEED to properly absorb the B12 in your multivitamin.

Vegetarians, especially vegans, are also considered to be at high risk for B12 deficiency, as leafy greens, while great sources of folic acid, which works with B12, have zero B12. Red meat is the best food source. However, I'm not saying that all vegans need to give up their diet, just that they need to be sure to take an adequate B12 supplement.

If you have already been tested for B12 deficiency, be sure to ask for the results. In this country, they tell you that you are fine with serum B12 numbers between 200-1100, which is a huge range. But in Japan, they treat anything under 650 as B12 deficiency--and they have the lowest rate of Alzheimer's Disease in the world, and Alzheimer's just happens to be linked with B12 deficiency.

Vitamin D deficiency has been in the news a lot lately. I have seen some discussion that it may be partially responsible for some peoples' celiac when triggered later in life. Kind of a vicious circle, as the celiac itself causes vitamin deficiency.

[Reba32]

anecdotally, I would say yes they are most definitely linked!

I was gluten free for about 7 or 8 months, then started a gluten challenge and about 4 weeks into that my ears started screaming again. I've been gluten free again for not quite 2 months now, and my ears are still ringing horribly. I'm hoping it'll get quieter after a few months.

[mommida]

To be more specific on the B12 defiency and the Celiac connection...

Pernicious anemia. The gut lining lacks the intrinsic factor to properly absorb B12. The new findings suggests sublingual vitamin B12 (look for the Methyl processed) is just as effective as the shots.

[ravenwoodglass]

To be more specific on the B12 defiency and the Celiac connection...

Pernicious anemia. The gut lining lacks the intrinsic factor to properly absorb B12. The new findings suggests sublingual vitamin B12 (look for the Methyl processed) is just as effective as the shots.

While the effects are the same pernicious anemia and celiac related B12 deficits are different. When you have PA the body lacks the ability to produce the intrinsic factor. That is likely permanent. With celiac the area of the intestine that produces intrinsic factor is damaged. Once that area heals many of us are able to absorb and utilize B12 again. It is important even after we have healed to have blood tests to check our vitamin and mineral levels. Oversupplementation with some vitamins can be a problem. B12 is not toxic and excess is normally excreted in the urine but extremely high blood levels can cause problems. The last time mine was tested it was over 1500 so I started taking my sublinguals once a week rather than the daily that I had been taking for years post diagnosis.

[Roy 43]

Dear All

Thank you for the replies with reference to Celiac and Tinnitus. It is very much appreciated. However if anyone else has any further information with regards to tinnitus being a symptom of celiac It would be appreciated.

Roy

[Fiddle-Faddle]

Roy, to put it more simply, tinnitus is not necessarily a direct symptom of celiac disease (thought it CAN be), but is often directly caused by intestinal damage that was caused by celiac.

It is important to note that with celiac disease, you can have intestinal DAMAGE without having noticeable intestinal SYMPTOMS.

There are other causes of tinnitus, and some of us have had it caused by several unrelated problems occurring simultaneously.

I saw a study posted on one of the Pernicious Anemia sites saying that, in that particular study of people with noise-induced hearing loss and tinnitus, 84% were found to be B12 deficient.

I wonder what percentage of them would have turned out to have celiac disease.

[Roy 43]

Dear Fiddle-Faddle

Firstly I would like to thank you for your input on my topic(tinnitus).

I am a Tinnitus sufferer myself and have been for quite some years.

I have carried out quite alot of intensive research on tinnitus, too long to go into here but celiac was mentioned to me by a consultant back in early 2009. I never gave it much thought at that point until somebody told me they had been affected by tinnitus but couldn't understand where his tinnitus had come from, no noise trauma and so on. Until he was seen by a gastroenterologist, in actual fact I know the gastroenterologist personally, he is an extremely thorough man. The person in question was diagnosed as having celiac disease and was advised to change his diet and also to stay away from products containing gluten. After approximately 5 to 6 weeks his Tinnitus apart from a slight whisper has almost cleared up. As I have stated I have tinnitus, it is a horrible thing and I am just wondering how many other people are suffereing unnecessary when possible just a simple change of diet could help them.

Once again thank you for your input, but if possible if there are any members reading this and they have any information with regards to tinnitus and celiac disease would you kindly let me know.

Thanking you all in anticipation.

Roy

[GFinDC]

Eh, sorry what did you say? I didn't quite catch that, my ears are ringing again.

I have ringing ears also, and the volume seems to vary depending on what I eat. Not sure what all the triggers for it are at the moment though. Gluten I am pretty sure of, soy maybe too, not sure about others yet.

[mushroom]

I have only one ringing ear, which began after I quit eating gluten and soy (and almost all corn), before quitting nightshades and citric acid. It stops briefly, every now and again, but is pretty much constant, and a real pain. I can't honestly relate it to anything except a coughing flu that I had.

[hoggja]

I have had ringing in my ears, vertigo and numbness in my face, hands and feet and it was so bad I was hospitalized for a week because I couldn't walk.

It turns out I was vitamin B deficient. After taking sublingual vitamin B and being diagnosed Celiacs it all went away. Now I am currently on a gluten free diet and taking regular vitamin B and the tinnitus is coming back. My only explanation is that regular vitamin B is

still not being absorbed. I have none of the stomach issues associated with celiacs, just the tinnitus and headache. The sublingual vitamin B works much better.