Tinnitus and Hormones

Most people suffering from Tinnitus find that the intensity of the symptom is quite variable, changing for instance throughout the day/night cycle but also due to other conditions. This is quite natural though as tinnitus is a nervous condition, and the nervous activity depends quite strongly hormone levels, which are highly variable. During the day/ night cycle for instance, a higher level of the 'sleep hormone' Melatonin will reduce the nervous activity (and thus the tinnitus) whereas a higher level of 'stress/wake hormones' like Cortisol and Adrenalin will increase it. Other hormones can affect the nervous activity for many reasons. For instance the female menstrual cycle and/or pregnancy causes strong hormonal variability which can affect the tinnitus in one way or another. This is all nothing to worry about. It is generally not recommended to take hormonal supplements like Melatonin in order to reduce the tinnitus as this could have unwanted side effects and interactions. So better not mess with your hormones (unless this is prescribed by your doctor because of deficiencies) but try to calm down your nervous system by other means. Relaxation is the best way to achieve this. I am not going to suggest here a certain method for this, because everybody has his/her own best way of relaxing, but it is important that you find some time for yourself without the usual pressures of daily life as often as possible. In some cases Vitamin-B supplements (especially B12) can also help to stabilize the nervous activity again (I have written more about Vitamin B12 in this post).