A 46-year-old man came to our clinic complaining of persistent ringing in his ears for the past nine months. It was loud and high pitched, sounding like crickets. He was not able to sleep during the night or concentrate during the day. This tinnitus acupuncture case study describes how we were able to resolve his problem for good.
What Is Tinnitus?
The Mayo Clinic describes tinnitus the following way: “Tinnitus is the perception of noise or ringing in the ears. A common problem, tinnitus affects about 15 to 20 percent of people. Tinnitus isn’t a condition itself — it’s a symptom of an underlying condition, such as age-related hearing loss, ear injury or a circulatory system disorder.” (Link to Mayo Clinic)
The Mayo Clinic is right. Tinnitus is caused by an underlying condition, or imbalance, as we say in Chinese medicine. When a patient comes to Raleigh Acupuncture, we conduct an intake exam to determine the imbalance responsible for their tinnitus. Once identified, we formulate a treatment plan to correct the imbalance.
Tinnitus Acupuncture Case Study
Our patient in this tinnitus acupuncture case study presented with the following symptoms. In addition to his high pitch, constant ringing in both ears, he also had high blood pressure, was 20 pounds overweight, had a great deal of stress from work, and woke up during the night around 2 am with difficulty falling back to sleep. He had a red facial complexion, a quick temper, a wiry pulse, and a red tongue with rough edges.
His Chinese medicine pattern diagnosis was Liver Yang Rising with underlying Kidney Yin deficiency. His treatment plan was to anchor his Liver Yang, smooth his Liver Qi, and nourish his Kidney yin. Acupuncture points included TW17, GB2, GV20, LV3, LV8, KD3, LI4, and LI11. We also prescribed the Chinese herbal formula Long Dan Xie Gan. Treatments were once a week.
Tinnitus Resolved
Our patient in this tinnitus acupuncture case study had a 50% reduction in his tinnitus within three treatments. The sound was softer, lower-pitched, and intermittent. After another four treatments, his tinnitus was 75% better. When he completed a course of treatment (12 treatments), acupuncture resolved his tinnitus completely. A six month follow up revealed that his condition had not returned.
Next Steps
If you struggle with tinnitus, come in for acupuncture and Chinese herbs. Treatments are safe, with no adverse side effects. All needles are sterile, single-use, and hair-thin. You will hardly feel them. And treatments are relaxing. Many of our patients fall asleep during their sessions.
BOOK NOW to schedule an appointment online.
WATCH VIDEO ABOUT OUR TINNITUS TREATMENT.
LEARN ABOUT ALL THE CONDITIONS WE TREAT.
What our Clients are Saying
I’ve had tinnitus for as long as I can remember. It came and went, sounding like the ocean. I would hear it mostly at night, which made it difficult to fall asleep. I was getting my back treated at Raleigh Acupuncture when I happened to mention the tinnitus. The doctor offered to treat that at the same time, and to my surprise, the tinnitus went away. What a bonus to my back treatment (which by the way also got better!). I would have taken care of this years ago if I knew acupuncture could cure tinnitus.
I developed ringing in my ears last year out of the blue. My doctor put me on medications, but it didn’t help. Research on the web led me to Raleigh Acupuncture. They treated me a dozen times and my ringing was gone. It has not come back. I don’t know what they did, but it worked. I’m very grateful. Thank you.
