Massage to Relieve Ear Ringing (Tinnitus)
A ringing or buzzing noise in the ears, medically known as tinnitus, can be very annoying and frustrating. For some people, it is a ringing sound, while others may be whistling, buzzing, hissing, humming, or roaring sound. The sound may come from one ear or both, be constant or intermittent. Individuals with ear ringing often suffer from certain degree of hearing loss.
From a TCM viewpoint, the ears are the openings of the kidneys on the body surface, and they are also important pivot locations for the meridians to communicate with each other. Ear ringing is closely associated with the internal disharmonies of the body. Basically, TCM believes that ear ringing is resulted from irritation or blockage of ear orifices. Physicians often divide the ear ringing conditions into two main categories, excess and deficient. The excess type of ear ringing is originated from invasion of exogenous evils or fire generated by organs; while the deficient type of ear ringing is originated from organ dysfunctions that fail to support the ear functioning.
For ear ringing individuals, the nature of ear ringing sounds are important clinical information for TCM physicians to diagnose the disharmony inside the body. For example, when individuals experienced a whistling sound that accompanied with stuffy feeling in the ears, exogenous wind and heat invasions will be suspected. A loud roaring or hissing sound, that triggered or aggravated after anger or other emotional crises, is often associated with liver fire stirring up; a sharp buzzing or whistling sound, that accompanied with ear channel stuffiness, is associated with phlegm and fire accumulations; a constant low buzzing or hissing sound, that often triggered by over thinking or physical fatigue, is associated with spleen weakness; a buzzing or humming sound in both ears, changing in loudness, and aggravated by physical fatigue, is associated with heart blood deficiency; a frequent buzzing sound that aggravated at night is associated kidney essence insufficiency; a constant low buzzing sound in both ears, that aggravated at night, is associated with kidney depletion.
The primary protocol for ear-ringing is below:
The above massage steps invigorate kidneys and promote ear functioning, which help to alleviate ear ringing, poor hearing and inner ear problems. Furthermore, there are additional massage steps for individuals with belows:
Ear ringing aggravated by emotional crises, and accompanied with headache, dizziness, irritability, mouth dryness and bitterness, and dry stools
Cicada-like ringing sound accompanied with stuffy deafness, dizziness, forehead heaviness, chest oppression and throat secretions
Ear ringing accompanied with dizziness, blurred vision, lumbar soreness and seminal emission
Ear ringing accompanied with poor appetite, spiritual fatigue and breathe shortness
From a TCM viewpoint, the ears are the openings of the kidneys on the body surface, and they are also important pivot locations for the meridians to communicate with each other. Ear ringing is closely associated with the internal disharmonies of the body. Basically, TCM believes that ear ringing is resulted from irritation or blockage of ear orifices. Physicians often divide the ear ringing conditions into two main categories, excess and deficient. The excess type of ear ringing is originated from invasion of exogenous evils or fire generated by organs; while the deficient type of ear ringing is originated from organ dysfunctions that fail to support the ear functioning.
For ear ringing individuals, the nature of ear ringing sounds are important clinical information for TCM physicians to diagnose the disharmony inside the body. For example, when individuals experienced a whistling sound that accompanied with stuffy feeling in the ears, exogenous wind and heat invasions will be suspected. A loud roaring or hissing sound, that triggered or aggravated after anger or other emotional crises, is often associated with liver fire stirring up; a sharp buzzing or whistling sound, that accompanied with ear channel stuffiness, is associated with phlegm and fire accumulations; a constant low buzzing or hissing sound, that often triggered by over thinking or physical fatigue, is associated with spleen weakness; a buzzing or humming sound in both ears, changing in loudness, and aggravated by physical fatigue, is associated with heart blood deficiency; a frequent buzzing sound that aggravated at night is associated kidney essence insufficiency; a constant low buzzing sound in both ears, that aggravated at night, is associated with kidney depletion.
The primary protocol for ear-ringing is below:
- Use the fingertips to press at the center the head crown (Du 20), and knead for 30 times;
- Use the thumbs to press at the two sides of skull base (Gb 20), and knead for 30 times;
- Use the thumbs to knead at just behind the earlobes (Sj 17), and the tragus front (Si 19), 30 times each;
- Use the index and middle fingers to press at the ear front and back separately, and rub forcefully up and down for 30 times;
- Clench the fists and beat on both sides of lower lumbar (Ex-B7), 30 times;
- Nip and grasp at the middle of palm web between thumb and index finger (Li 4), 30 times each hand;
- Use the thumb to knead at the depressions behind the inner ankle malleolus of each ankle (Ki 3), 30 times on each foot.
The above massage steps invigorate kidneys and promote ear functioning, which help to alleviate ear ringing, poor hearing and inner ear problems. Furthermore, there are additional massage steps for individuals with belows:
Ear ringing aggravated by emotional crises, and accompanied with headache, dizziness, irritability, mouth dryness and bitterness, and dry stools
- Bend the index fingers and use its middle knuckles to press firmly at the middle forehead, then wipe towards the temples, repeat for 30 times;
- Place the palms on both sides of the navel and then scrub up and down over the lower abdomen, 30 times;
- Use the thumb to knead at the bony depression of neck back (Du 16), 30 times;
- Use the fingertips to knead at the sides of chest spine, about the level of 9th thoracic vertebra (Bl 18), 30 times;
- Use the thumb and index finger to grasp at 2-finger-breadth above the midline of wrist (Pc 6) and its opposite side (Sj 5) of the forearm, 20 times;
- Knead at tai chong (Lr 3, depression between big toe and second toe) on the dorsum of the foot, 30 times each foot;
- Use the thumb to knead at the depression in front of the lateral malleolus of ankle (Gb 40), 30 times each ankle.
Cicada-like ringing sound accompanied with stuffy deafness, dizziness, forehead heaviness, chest oppression and throat secretions
- Keep the upper body straight, make one hand into fist, and beat on the middle of shoulder (Gb 21) of opposite side, 15 times each side;
- Grasp the shoulder muscles that near the root of neck (Bl 13), do this on alternative side for 30 times;
- Use middle fingertip to knead at the midpoint between the two nipples (Rn 17, tan zhong), 30 times;
- Put the hands on both sides of rib cage, rub along the ribs, back and forth for 30 times;
- Bend the index fingers and use its middle knuckles to press firmly at the middle forehead, then wipe towards the temples, repeat for 30 times.
Ear ringing accompanied with dizziness, blurred vision, lumbar soreness and seminal emission
- Bend the index fingers and use its middle knuckles to press firmly at the middle forehead, then wipe towards the temples, repeat for 30 times;
- Clench the fists and beat the lumbar, especially at the level of 2nd lumbar vertebra, 30 times;
- Use both hands to wipe transversely across the lumbar and hip regions, 30 times.
Ear ringing accompanied with poor appetite, spiritual fatigue and breathe shortness
- Bend the index fingers and use its middle knuckles to press firmly at the middle forehead, then wipe towards the temples, repeat for 30 times;
- Cross the hands and place on the upper abdomen, rub in circular motion over the area, 30 times;
- Use the fingertips to knead on the sides of lower chest spine, up and down for 30 times.
Massage to relieve ear ringing
