If you’re like millions of Americans, you start off your day with a steaming cup of coffee. You probably get to work and nurse another cup until your lunch break. Perhaps you’re even the type who gets through that afternoon slump with yet another cup. You’ve heard the weary tales of caffeine side effects and you take these quite seriously. That’s why you either limit how much coffee you drink throughout the day or restrict consumption after a certain hour. Turns out you have more to worry about than a pounding heart and overall jitteriness. A group of medical scientists have reported data that just uncovered that caffeine can also lead to hearing loss. As found in the Journal of American Medical Association, McGill University Health Centre’s Research Institute says caffeine prevents the ears from functioning as they should when exposed to excessive noise.

Caffeine and Hearing Loss

Faisal Zawawi of McGill University Health Centre spoke to Paul Resnikoff at Digital Music News, expounding on his findings. “Our research confirmed that exposure to loud auditory stimuli coupled with daily consumption of 25 mg/kg of caffeine had a clear negative impact on hearing recovery.” Just what does hearing recovery mean? This refers to your ear’s natural ability to undo the hearing loss or tinnitus you experience in your daily life when exposed to loud sounds. However, “caffeine can retard that process, and make it more difficult or impossible to erase the damage,” Resnikoff writes. That means a mild case of tinnitus may never go away.

More on the Research

As a caution, the scientific research team at McGill University Health Centre performed their study on guinea pigs instead of people. They divided the animals into two groups for two weeks. Some were given coffee to drink regularly and others were not. Both were placed in a noisy environment reaching at least 110 decibels. Then both groups were studied to see whose hearing fared best. Would the same reaction occur in people as it did in guinea pigs? As of now, no one can say. As it turns out, McGill University Health Centre is interested in that very question and seeks to replicate their research with actual people. In the meantime, until we know for sure, it’s probably a good idea to watch what you drink when going to a festival, concert, or other loud event. Avoid drinking coffee that day.

Treating Hearing Loss

If you believe you may already have hearing loss or tinnitus, contact us at Beltone South. A trusted option in Tennessee for more than 50 years, we pride ourselves on our free hearing screenings. When you visit any of our locations, we can pair you with a trained hearing professional who will diagnose your hearing damage and recommend a free trial usage of our popular Beltone hearing aids.