Fruit was linked to less ear ringing. Whole grains? More.

People say: “Does a healthy diet protect against tinnitus?” We read the study.

What they did

Cohort study. 113,554 people. NHS 1984-2022 and NHS2 1991-2021 (up to 38 years); 2,643,510 person-years.

People were watched for years. Nobody was told what to do. A clue, not proof.

Who: US female nurses (NHS n = 42,504, aged 30-55 at 1976 enrolment; NHS2 n = 71,050, aged 25-42 at 1989 enrolment), mostly white, free of tinnitus, cancer and stroke at baseline

What they found
  • Most fruit-19%less tinnitus risk
  • Most whole grains+26%linked, not proven
  • Most sugary drinks+12%vs the least
The catch

More to know, from our read of the paper:

  • Observational: association, not causation; residual confounding possible (authors say so)
  • Tinnitus was self-reported (questions asked from 2008/2009; onset age reported); 'persistent' = several days a week or daily
  • Diet self-reported by food frequency questionnaire every 4 years (cumulative average)
  • Overall healthy diet (DASH score) showed no consistent link: pooled HR 1.03 (0.98-1.08), and the two cohorts pointed in opposite directions (NHS 0.92, NHS2 1.09)
  • Food-group results compare highest vs lowest fifth of intake (quintile 5 vs 1). Individual-food analyses were exploratory and NOT corrected for multiple comparisons; authors focused on results consistent in both cohorts
The verdict

Some foods linked to tinnitus. Not proven.

One thing to try
  1. Don't drop whole grainsThe authors don't advise avoiding them.
In short

Researchers followed 113,554 US women nurses in two cohorts for up to 38 years, asking about their diet every 4 years. 22,879 developed persistent tinnitus (self-reported). An overall healthy diet showed no consistent link. But women who ate the most fruit had 19% lower risk than those who ate the least, while the most whole grains went with 26% higher risk and the most sugary drinks with 12% higher. Observational: linked, not proven, and the authors do not advise avoiding whole grains.

The video
The paper

Curhan SG, Zeleznik OA, Stampfer MJ, Curhan GC (2026). Longitudinal study of dietary intake and risk of persistent tinnitus in 2 large independent cohorts of women. American Journal of Epidemiology.

Design: Cohort study · prospective cohort study, two cohorts (Nurses' Health Study and NHS2) analysed separately and pooled; multivariable Cox regression (linked, not proven)

DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwaf277

Goals:

Eat better
How we checked

We read the abstract and the full text of this paper and checked every number on this page against it (17 facts, checked on 2026-10-29). The study design is named above. Cohort and other observational studies are described as linked, not proven. Found an error? Email theis@onestudyaday.com.

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