The ringing often gets dismissed as simply part of aging
Más de 740 millones de personas en el mundo conviven con un zumbido persistente en los oídos que erosiona el sueño, la concentración y la vida cotidiana, y la ciencia comienza a trazar un vínculo entre ese malestar y una carencia nutricional silenciosa: la deficiencia de vitamina D. En Chile, un estudio reciente reveló que más del 82 por ciento de los trabajadores presenta niveles insuficientes o deficientes, una cifra que obliga a replantear cómo el entorno laboral moderno —con sus oficinas cerradas y su escasa exposición solar— está moldeando la salud auditiva y general de la población. La advertencia de los especialistas no es alarmista, sino preventiva: atender lo que el cuerpo susurra antes de que se convierta en ruido.
- Más de 8.600 trabajadores chilenos fueron evaluados entre 2025 y 2026, y casi nueve de cada diez mujeres y adultos mayores de 60 años mostraron niveles insuficientes o deficientes de vitamina D.
- La deficiencia no se detiene en el cansancio o la inmunidad: investigaciones publicadas en revistas como Frontiers in Neurology documentan que niveles bajos de vitamina D se asocian con mayor prevalencia e intensidad del tinnitus.
- El entorno laboral contemporáneo —pantallas, espacios cerrados, jornadas sin luz natural— está convirtiendo la deficiencia en norma, afectando incluso a trabajadores jóvenes que no se consideran en riesgo.
- Algunos pacientes han experimentado mejoría al corregir la deficiencia bajo supervisión médica, pero los especialistas advierten que el tinnitus exige un abordaje integral, no una solución única.
- La recomendación es clara: no esperar a que el zumbido interrumpa el sueño o la concentración para actuar, sino incorporar evaluaciones preventivas, exposición solar adecuada y nutrición equilibrada como hábitos sostenidos.
Un problema silencioso está reconfigurando la salud de miles de chilenos. Investigaciones recientes han comenzado a vincular la deficiencia de vitamina D con el tinnitus, ese zumbido persistente que afecta a más de 740 millones de personas en el mundo y que puede deteriorar la calidad de vida de maneras tanto evidentes como sutiles.
Entre junio de 2025 y marzo de 2026, la empresa de salud preventiva Besplus evaluó a más de 8.600 trabajadores en Chile. Los resultados fueron contundentes: el 82,8 por ciento presentó niveles insuficientes o deficientes de vitamina D. Las mujeres alcanzaron un 88,8 por ciento de prevalencia, y los mayores de 60 años llegaron al 89,9 por ciento.
Marisela Rojas, audióloga de GAES Chile, explica que el tinnitus es multifactorial, pero que ciertas carencias nutricionales —especialmente la vitamina D— pueden promover inflamación, alterar la actividad neuronal y modificar la sensibilidad auditiva. La evidencia internacional respalda esta asociación: quienes tienen niveles bajos de vitamina D presentan mayor frecuencia e intensidad de síntomas, y algunos han mejorado al corregir la deficiencia bajo supervisión médica.
El mundo laboral moderno agrava el panorama. Las oficinas cerradas, el tiempo frente a pantallas y la reducida exposición a la luz natural erosionan los niveles de vitamina D incluso en trabajadores jóvenes. Lo que antes era una excepción se ha vuelto rutina, con consecuencias que van desde el agotamiento y la debilidad inmune hasta alteraciones en la salud auditiva.
Los especialistas subrayan que la suplementación no es la única respuesta. El abordaje debe ser integral: evaluación médica y audiológica, exposición solar adecuada, alimentación equilibrada y controles preventivos. Cuando el zumbido persiste y comienza a afectar el sueño o la concentración, esperar no es una opción. La clave está en la prevención y en tomar en serio las señales tempranas.
A quiet problem is reshaping the health of thousands of Chileans—one that touches not just energy and immunity, but the ears themselves. Recent research has begun connecting vitamin D deficiency to tinnitus, that persistent ringing in the ears that affects more than 740 million people worldwide and can erode quality of life in ways both obvious and subtle.
The connection matters urgently in Chile. Between June 2025 and March 2026, Besplus, a preventive health company, screened more than 8,600 workers across the country. The findings were stark: 82.8 percent showed insufficient or deficient vitamin D levels. Within that group, 15 percent had outright deficiency, while 67.8 percent fell into the insufficient range. The pattern was not random. Women registered deficiency at 88.8 percent. Workers over 60 climbed to 89.9 percent.
Experts say the deficit reaches beyond fatigue and weakened immunity. Marisela Rojas, an audiologist at GAES Chile, explains that tinnitus is complex and multifactorial, but evidence increasingly points to how certain nutritional gaps—vitamin D especially—can drive inflammation, alter how neurons fire, and shift auditory sensitivity. International research published in journals like Frontiers in Neurology and Nutrients has documented that people with low vitamin D show both higher rates of tinnitus and greater intensity of symptoms. Some patients have seen improvement when these deficiencies were corrected, though always under medical supervision.
The workplace dimension adds weight to the concern. Tinnitus tends to strike older adults and those under chronic stress, fatigue, or managing long-term illness. The ringing often gets dismissed as simply part of aging, but specialists point to multiple culprits: nutritional imbalances, noise exposure, cardiovascular problems. When the sound persists or begins stealing sleep and concentration, it demands attention.
The modern work environment may be accelerating the problem. Closed offices, screen time, reduced daylight exposure—these have become the texture of many jobs, and they erode vitamin D levels even in younger workers. Rojas notes that deficiency is no longer exceptional. It is becoming routine, with effects that ripple far beyond what people typically expect: energy crashes, mental health shifts, immune weakness, and now hearing itself.
Experts emphasize that supplementation alone is not the answer. Tinnitus requires an integrated approach: medical and audiological evaluation, adequate sun exposure, balanced nutrition, preventive checkups. The point is not to panic at the first ring in the ear, but to take persistent symptoms seriously. When tinnitus settles in and begins affecting daily life, waiting serves no one. The pathway forward is prevention—maintaining habits that support overall wellness—and early detection when something shifts.
Citações Notáveis
Tinnitus is complex and multifactorial, but evidence increasingly shows how certain nutritional gaps—vitamin D especially—can drive inflammation and alter auditory sensitivity— Marisela Rojas, audiologist at GAES Chile
Vitamin D deficiency is no longer exceptional. It is becoming routine, with effects that ripple far beyond what people typically expect, including hearing itself— Marisela Rojas, GAES Chile
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why does vitamin D specifically matter for hearing? It seems like an odd connection.
Vitamin D regulates inflammation and supports how nerve cells communicate. The inner ear is densely packed with both. When levels drop, that system becomes more vulnerable to dysfunction.
So this is about inflammation in the ear itself?
Partly, yes. But also about the nervous system's ability to process sound signals cleanly. It's not just mechanical—it's chemical and electrical.
The Chilean data shows women at 88.8 percent deficiency. Why the gender gap?
Several factors converge. Women often spend more time indoors, use more sun protection, and have different absorption patterns. Hormonal shifts matter too, especially after menopause.
If someone has tinnitus now, does fixing their vitamin D actually make it stop?
Not always, and not automatically. But in some cases, yes—especially if the deficiency is recent and the tinnitus is mild. The key is that it's one lever among many. You need the full picture: hearing assessment, cardiovascular health, stress levels.
What worries you most about this pattern in Chile?
That it's becoming normalized. People accept the ringing as inevitable, when it might be preventable or reversible. And the workplace culture—fluorescent lights, closed spaces, constant screens—is actively creating the conditions for deficiency.