Can Acupuncture help with Tinnitus?

Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog roll. I hope so far you are finding some useful information here and enjoying your experience reading the articles. Remember if there is anything on your mind or you would like to share something simply email me or put your comments below and I will get back to you.

Moving on I  have noticed that on occasion, I would get customers asking about natural methods that can be used for tinnitus. One question in particular that I would hear is,  ‘Can acupuncture help with Tinnitus?’ I would like to share with you my take on this interesting topic and give you an answer towards the end. BUT first lets look at what acupuncture is?


What is acupuncture?

can acupuncture help with tinnitus

The meridian lines used in Acupuncture

Acupuncture-    Acupuncture originates from China and it is an alternative form of medical therapy that has been practiced for thousands of years.

Okay, it’s not just the principle of sticking needles in the body and then hoping for a sign of relief. Though I wish it were that easy. But then again, would I actually like to put needles into my body to start off with. Arrgh!!!! I know some of you probably have this thought in mind and let me clear it up for you.

The basis of this treatment is the insertion of needles along specific points on the body and inserted to various depths along these points.


How does acupuncture work?

The points, whereby needles are placed, are located along meridians or passages along the body. According to Chinese philosophy, there is a constant energy flow along these meridians. This energy is a mixture of “light’ and ‘dark’ , or what is believed to be the ‘ying’ and the ‘yang’ that makes up the life force which is in complete harmony. I hope you all are with me so far?

So when there is something wrong in the body, there is an imbalance in this energy flow.(So think of it as water flowing through a hosepipe that has stones inside, that is obstructing the smooth flow.)  So Acupuncturists, place needles on specific points of the pathway(meridians), and there are about 2000 of these points, to clear this “obstruction,’ hence allowing the normal energy flow or balance to return and thereby eliminating the stresses or disease impacted on that person.

The Acupuncturist fills out a case history for the person and an assessment or consultation is done. A session may last for about half an hour and  you may have to go for a session weekly or fortnightly, for a period of 12weeks or so.

Generally, there are no side effects and it is considered safe and is fine to do with other treatment regimes that you may be following.

The Million-Dollar question.

I am sure that if you read about my journey with tinnitus, you will realize that it has been one of ups and downs and there have been more tough times than easy paths to follow along this journey. A cloud covers this question and it really is not clear whether there is a correlation between acupuncture and tinnitus healing.

Can acupuncture help with tinnitus

Lucky Me!!The needles are inserted along specific points along the meridian line.

 

I for one am willing to dive into any treatment, just to get some relief and I decided to try acupuncture. The biggest plus for me was that it is a non-invasive form of treatment as I hate operations or being cut-open, so I definitely went for this.


 

THE RESULT:

My answer is a resounding ‘Yes.’ I certainly felt a difference, using this therapy. If you can recall, I mentioned in my previous post, that I had tinnitus that felt like the pulsatile type. After two and a half to 3weeks of acupuncture I had noticed that the noises had lessened down a little. In fact when I went for my audiology test, my audiologist picked up something remarkable. Even though I am completely deaf in the right ear, there was a very tiny show of response in the higher decibels sounds in this ear, which had never ever happened. I first tried the acupuncture at home and then I visited a practitioner whereby I only done it for 3 weeks with him, then reverted back to doing it by myself at home


 

Treatment at Home…..Now what are you talking about?

Very briefly, let me tell you a quick story. My wife is a Qualified Reflexologist and has been practicing for the past 13years now. Like me she loves to try different things and help clients using treatments that are interesting, yet safe. Back then, she was fortunate to come across a therapy called  Genesen Acutouch (a set of specialised pointers, that carries current to the points) pens,to try out on her clients. The Genesen Acutouch Pens are based on the principle of acupuncture, but does not penetrate the skin, like the actual acupuncture needles. Who knew that so many years down the line, these pens would play such a vital role in my life(and hers). Sheww, there truly is a reason for everything. Sometimes things come together only later, when the time is right.

How did you know which points to place the pens on?

The points for any ailment is outlined in the manual that accompanied the pens. A review of these pens will follow in another post of mine.

For now, its suffice to know that the important points were, the head, the midline above the ear, near the ear itself, both infront and behind. Also, various meridians along the hand and ankle were also involved. I spent 2-3 minutes at each point, until I could feel a tingling sensation, then moved on to the next point. So all in all, I spent 45minutes to an hour a day. I noticed the same points been used by my acupuncturist and after 3weeks with him, I continued to use the Acutouch pens my own, as time and work did not permit me to visit my acupuncturist.


 

Conclusion.

So , can acupuncture help with tinnitus? In my books I see it a winner. I certainly will recommend it to people and suggest that one should give it go. It does not hurt to try… you never know.

I hope you enjoyed reading my posts and would love to hear from you, regarding your thoughts on this article and what results you got, if any, using acupuncture. For now, take care and see you soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10 Comments

  1. Maarten

    Hey there,

    Tinnitus, depending on the grade, can be incredibly hard to live with. I believe you that you will try anything to lessen the noise in your ears.

    I myself have been treated by acupuncture, (For different reasons) and it always helped me. Now a problem like tinnitus is a bit different. I couldn’t say if acupuncture would have any effect or not. Hearing your story is very intriguing for other people with the same problem. How much do these treatments cost where you are from?

    Cheers!

    • Roopesh

      Hi Maarten

      Thank you very much for your comment.Yes, tinnitus is certainly a different condition and the acupuncture treatment that I recommend is based entirely on my experience.I definitely think that people should at least give this a try as it may work for you or not.I am from South Africa, and the treatments here cost around $50per session.

      Hope this answers your question.Take Care and Regards.

      Roopesh.

  2. adam

    hi there,
    Thanks for sharing this information. I’ve heard of acupuncture before, not for treating tinnitus though but glad to hear its helped you.
    Not sure if I believe in all that light and dark energy but like you said it doesn’t hurt to try, so why not give it a go.
    How long does it usually take before you start to notice its effect?

    • Roopesh

      Hi Adam

      Thank you for sharing. I think the time to see an effect will depend on a number of factors which include but not limited to how many times the person gets the treatment, the severity of the condition, whether other ailments or conditions are present in that person at that particular time.

      Thanks

  3. Tankytanky

    My mom is a very experienced Chinese Traditional Medicine Doctor. She had been in this field for over 28 years and she acknowledges the acupuncture treatment for tinnitus, which may depend on individual case.
    I am very interested in Chinese Traditional Medicine and from my perspective, acupuncture redirects the Chi flow at the meridian points and allows the entire human body to heal and recover to an equilibrium of different energies. And I think acupuncture is one of the best methods to treat nerve problems and its effects are even better than any other western medicine technologies.
    There were many cases in China that people who became paralyzed after car accidents, and western medicine had no methods of treating them. These patients were eventually cured from acupuncture and Chinese Traditional Medicine.

    • Roopesh

      Hi Tankytanky

      Thank you for your share.

      This is amazing, it’s so wonderful to hear that your mum has been practicing in the Chinese Traditional Medicine field for such a long time. I have always been someone who likes to look out of the box and search for different or alternate treatment options.

      The case that you mentioned about people been cured from paralysis by the acupuncture and Chinese Traditional Medicine is proof that this form of treatment works and should not be underestimated or second guessed.

      Sure, conventional medicine does have its place but so much benefit has been seen with acupuncture and Chinese Medicine that it too deserves its share of merit.

      Thank you very much and Take Care

      Roopesh.

  4. Mark

    Thank you on that very informative article. I never really understood acupuncture until reading your article. I always thought acupuncture was just not really a thing nut now I’m a believer. And now learning that it can help with tinnitus I’m honestly shocked. I never thought that it could be so useful. Thank you for that article it was really eye opening.

    • Roopesh

      Hi Mark

      I am so happy to hear that you have enjoyed this article.It is my aim to educate people more about tinnitus and shed more light on the treatment thereof.

      Acupuncture does not only help for tinnitus but for a range of other conditions as well.

      What makes its really accepting to people is the fact that it is non-invasive and does not have a lot of,if any,side-effects attached to it.

      Thank you for stopping by and take care

      Regards

      Roopesh

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