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Short Summary
Main recommendation: If tinnitus is severe and persists after fixable causes are ruled out, Dr. Ken Berry says the root cause is often hyperinsulinemia (chronically high insulin), and the main fix is a very low carbohydrate diet rich in iodine and taurine. Limiting salt and caffeine, benzodiazepines, anticonvulsants, and SSRIs are presented as ineffective or harmful, while a noise machine and tinnitus maneuvers can provide temporary relief.
Key Points
- Tinnitus is common: nearly everyone over about 35 to 40 has some degree of it, but it is usually only bothersome in very quiet environments.
- Fixable causes should be checked first, including impacted earwax, a foreign body in the ear canal, a perforated eardrum, infection, TMJ syndrome, B12, iodine, or taurine deficiency, undiagnosed hypothyroidism, anemia, or ketone deficiency, and medication side effects; an acoustic neuroma (ruled out by brain MRI) is considered separately as an unfixable cause to investigate if symptoms persist.
- Dr. Berry states that the common advice to limit salt and caffeine has no effect on tinnitus, citing research.
- He reports that many people who switched to ketogenic, ketovore, or carnivore diets for weight loss or type 2 diabetes later said their tinnitus improved.
- Benzodiazepines (clonazepam, Valium), anticonvulsants (Tegretol, Neurontin, Lamictal), and SSRIs (Paxil, Prozac, Zoloft, Celexa, Lexapro) are described as lacking supporting research, with withdrawal side effects in some cases.
Details Worth Noting
- Concrete instructions:
- Ask your doctor to check for impacted earwax, a foreign body in the ear canal, and a perforated eardrum, and correct them if found.
- Ask for blood tests for B12, iodine, taurine, thyroid (hypothyroidism), and anemia, and treat any deficiency found.
- If severe tinnitus persists after corrections, ask for a brain MRI that images the inner ear and eighth cranial nerve to rule out an acoustic neuroma.
- Adopt a very low carbohydrate diet, with the specific goal of reducing hyperinsulinemia, which Dr. Berry says is the root cause for most people with severe tinnitus.
- Eat iodine-rich foods (he says a video on his channel lists the seven richest) and taurine-rich foods such as chicken heart or beef heart; he notes that most animal meat is a taurine source.
- Use a noise machine with multiple settings (white, pink, or brown noise) at night and during the day; he says a basic box fan on low may also work for some people.
- Try tinnitus maneuvers multiple times a day, for temporary relief.
- Dr. Berry says the advice about salt and caffeine is commonly given by primary care doctors but is not supported by the research he cites.
- He notes that tinnitus is linked to hearing loss and Ménière's disease, which he plans to cover in a future video.
- He says ear candles, chiropractic, acupuncture, and acupressure have no research support and are likely a waste of money.
Bottom Line
Severe tinnitus should first be checked for fixable physical causes and treated, and if it persists, Dr. Berry argues that reducing carbohydrate intake to address hyperinsulinemia is the most promising long-term approach, while noise machines and tinnitus maneuvers can help in the meantime. These are claims from the speaker and not professional medical advice.
