Tinnitus

In TCM thinking, the ears are the openings of the kidney on the body surface, and they are also important pivot locations for the meridians to communicate with each other. Diminished hearing, tinnitus or deafness means internal disharmony related in to the kidney.

Tinnitus is difficult to treat and there are many possible patterns for tinnitus in TCM terms. The following are three common patterns of tinnitus that can be treated effectively by acupuncture. In some cases, the tinnitus completely disappeared after treating the root cause of the illness.

1. Tinnitus due to kidney disorder
The kidneys are considered to be one of the vital organs causing tinnitus. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the kidneys and ears have a close internal relationship. The kidneys are responsible for promoting qi and blood to the ears, and maintaining normal physiological functioning. When your kidneys are disordered such as kidney yin weakness the ears are unable to receive adequate blood and qi from the kidneys, resulting in tinnitus.

2. Tinnitus due to liver, gallbladder or triple burner disorder
The meridians of the liver, gallbladder and triple burner run around the ears, when the liver, gallbladder and triple burner have a blockage and heat, it will move along the meridians reaching the ears, blocking the ear circulation, causing tinnitus.

3. When the Spleen Meridian has dampness evils that blocks the yang-qi flowing upward to the head, there will be mild ear ringing too.

In most cases, acute tinnitus is easier to be treat. And chronic tinnitus took longer time to feel the effect after treatments. TCM practitioners often offer acupuncture combined with herbal formula in treating tinnitus.