Hi
Thank you very much for this inspiring site. My question is about tinnitus and meniere’s. I have constant strong noises in both ears, reduced hearing and occasional severe vertigo and headaches. Official medicine has no solution. What solutions are offered by traditional Chinese medicine? I read that the cause is not in the ears but in the brain. This opens up new possibilities for treatment, if the theory is correct.
Sarah
Comment by Chad J. Dupuis, L.Ac.
There are most certainly Chinese Medicine (both acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine) treatments for tinnitus and meniere’s. You can read our meniere’s treatment section and our tinnitus treatment section for more practitioner level information regarding underlying diagnoses in Chinese Medicine terms, possibly acupuncture protocols and possibilities herbally.
Now all that said what matters the most from the Chinese Medicine is proper diagnosis in our terms, effectively making a statement of symptoms such as “tinnitus” irrelevant. For more on that I suggest you read, “treating the cause vs. the symptoms” - but ultimately what this means is that you should consult directly with a licensed acupuncturist, ideally who also practices Chinese herbal medicine in your area.
As for the “cause” being the not the ears and not the brain - that is definitely a fact in some cases, but in others it may very well be the ears and yet in another it’s technically neither but from stress hormones, etc. Even from a western perspective deeper diagnosis of the true contributing factors is critical, but in Chinese Medicine it is absolutely imperative.
All that said, this range of conditions generally responds well, issues such as meniere’s, however, can be tricky and often involves longer treatment duration as in months to years potentially.