Vitamins & Minerals for Inner Ear Problems
Certain vitamins and minerals can relieve the disturbance of inner ear problems. Fluid in your middle ear stimulates the auditory nerve in your inner ear to create sound.
Certain vitamins and minerals can relieve the disturbance of inner ear problems. Fluid in your middle ear stimulates the auditory nerve in your inner ear to create sound. Yet, when this fluid becomes infected in the inner ear, you can experience painful and persistent earaches, dizziness, loss of balance, hearing problems and fever. Consult your doctor about vitamins and minerals for inner ear problems.
Vestibular Disorders
Vestibular disorders involve the vestibular system, which includes the inner ear and brain that process sensory information affecting eye movement and controlling balance. Vertigo, vestibular neuritis, labyrinthitis, acoustic neuroma and Meniere's disease are common disorders of the inner ear. Meniere's disease causes sudden episodes of vertigo, a symptom characterized by a sensation of motion, fluctuating hearing loss, tinnitus and pressure buildup in your ear. Tinnitus is a disorder characterized by ringing in your ear. Meniere's disease can afflict people at any age, but appears to affect people in their 40s and 50s the most. If left untreated, vertigo can increase your risk of falling, accidents and permanent hearing loss.
Vitamin B-12
Vitamin B-12 is a water soluble vitamin vital for proper neurological function. A deficiency of vitamin B-2 can increase your risk of tinnitus. Increasing your intake of vitamin B-12 may relieve symptoms of tinnitus. Research by scientists at Chaim-Sheba Medical Center in Ramat-Gan, Israel, and published in the May-April issue of the "American Journal of Otolaryngology" in 1993 discovered that patients with tinnitus and hearing loss had a vitamin B-12 deficiency. The scientists also found that vitamin B-12 therapy may improve symptoms associated with tinnitus.
Zinc
Zinc is a trace mineral that plays an essential role in stimulating your immune system and assisting enzymes in cellular chemical reactions. A zinc deficiency is associated with development of tinnitus, and supplementation may reduce the symptoms of the ringing disorder. Research by scientists at The University of Iowa in Iowa City and published in "Progress in Brain Research" in 2007 reports that zinc deficiency increases the risk of tinnitus, and administration of the mineral has a beneficial effect on improving the symptoms.
Potassium
Potasium is a mineral you need to help regulate fluid balance in your body and may improve the fluid balance of minerals in the endolymph, a type of fluid within the inner ear. The fluid balance of minerals including potassium, sodium, chloride and other electrolytes in your inner ear can change with injury or disease. Maintaining the stability of this fluid with adequate potassium is critical to sustaining your health.