Tinnitus

On Friday (four days ago) I realised I have tinnitus. It's at about 9000hz and I've been struggling to sleep - I'm quite scared - going to see doctor tomorrow.

Has this been caused by my attempting to cut down on aspartame? I don't know.

My cutting down has been going quite well - down to one can of diet coke (and no other source of aspartame) every two days. But for the past four days I've felt awful.

Today I drank diet coke and I felt better - my appetite returned - it made the headaches go away, but the tinnitus is still there.

Can I notice the tinnitus now, because my brain is less excited?
The neurotoxins hurt my hearing?



http://www.bio.net/bionet/mm/ageing/1995-September/001727.html

It says in the
Congressional Record, S5511, May 7, 1985, the following:

"Aspartame has been demonstrated to inhibit the carbohydrate-induced
synthesis of the neurotransmitter serotonin (Wurtman affidavit).
Serotonin blunts the sensation of craving carbohydrates and thus is part
of the body's feedback system that helps limit consumption of
carbohydrate to appropriate levels.  Its inhibition by aspartame could
lead to the anomalous result of a diet product causing increased
consumption of carbohydrates."

http://www.rawcuisine.co.uk/whats-happening-to-food/diet-coke/

This page mentions tinnitus and aspartame.

” … I am a Pediatrician, a Professor of Pediatrics at Emory, and have spent 25 years in the biomedical science, trying to prevent mental retardation and birth defects caused by excess phenylalanine.. . . . . .I have considerable concern for the increased dissemination and consumption of the sweetener, aspartame, (1-methyl N-L-a-aspartyl-L- phenylalanine) in our world food supply. This artificial dipeptide is hydrolyzed by the intestinal tract to produce L-phenylalanine which in excess is a known neurotoxin. Normal humans do not metabolize phenylalanine as efficiently as do lower species such as rodents and thus most of the previous studies in Aspartame effects on rats are irrelevant to the question, ‘Does phenylalanine excess occur with Aspartame ingestion?’”

Statement by Louis J. Elsas, II, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics, before the USA Senate Committee of Labor and Human Resources on the subject “Nutrasweet: Health and safety concerns”, November 3, 1987.

http://www.tinnitusformula.com/infocenter/articles/treatments/toxins.aspx

Both aspartame and monosodium glutamate are excitatory neurotransmitters. That is, they excite brain neurons and increase levels of electrical activity in the brain and the auditory cortex, the area where tinnitus is perceived. We know that people with tinnitus have an elevated level of electrical activity and reducing this activity is helpful for tinnitus. Increasing electrical activity increases tinnitus. A previous article discussing elevated states of electrical activity in the brain and tinnitus can be seen by clicking here.

http://www.bio.net/bionet/mm/ageing/1995-September/001727.html

HE ROLE OF ASPARTAME

Each of these components of aspartame -- phenylalanine; aspartic acid;
the methyl ester, which promptly becomes methyl alcohol or methanol --
and their multiple breakdown products after exposure to heat or during
prolonged storage is potentially toxic to the brain and inner ear.  These
organs are uniquely vulnerable to metabolic disturbances and neurotoxins
because of their unique metabolic requirements.

http://www.bio.net/bionet/mm/ageing/1995-September/001727.html 

Subject:      Help at last... please read
Date:         1997/09/13
Newsgroups:   alt.support.tinnitus

On 07-11-97 I received information on the fact that
aspartame(Nutrasweet/Equal) could cause tinnitus by destroying the
central nervous system.  I had been a large user of diet sodas which
contain aspartame.I  figured I had nothing to lose by switching to plain
water. The results were not immediate but took approx. 2 months. I can
now honestly say that my tinnitus has been greatly reduced and
completely gone much of the time.