Chinese Herbal Treatment for Ear Ringing (Tinnitus)
Ear ringing (tinnitus) is a condition where you experience ringing or other noises in your ears. The noise you hear isn’t caused by an external sound and is rarely due to serious health problems. Ear ringing is often a subjective symptom and can be an early warning sign of hearing damage. If it becomes severe enough to interfere with daily life, you should see a doctor as soon as possible.
Common causal factors include loud noise exposure, aging, migraines, medications, and ear infections. Since the cause is unknown in many cases, it presents a clinical challenge. In clinical practice, there is no single fixed treatment model for managing ear ringing. A comprehensive and individualized approach is required. Doctors will select a therapy or combination of therapies based on the specific condition of the patient and try them for a period of time to find the best treatment plan.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has unique advantages in treating ear diseases. TCM therapies focus on overall regulation and emphasize treatment according to syndrome differentiation. This holistic approach makes TCM a valuable part of the health management of ear ringing.
TCM believes that ear ringing is a sign or early warning of internal disharmonies, resulting from internal or external factors. The treatment should not only focus on ear ringing alone but also on accompanying problems such as insomnia, mental stress, difficulty concentrating, organ dysfunction, or overall health condition. Only when the body is restored to harmony and the ear orifices become smooth again can the hearing problem be relieved.
TCM specializes in a holistic approach. Physicians use various methods or remedies to regulate the organs or functions of the body, aiming to achieve comprehensive therapeutic results. This approach benefits not only the ears but also addresses internal disharmonies such as poor sleep and emotional distress. Physicians collect all symptoms and signs of the patients, diagnose particular disharmony patterns, and design treatment plans accordingly. The overall health condition, medical history, and lifestyle are all taken into consideration.
Common disharmony patterns and suitable herbal remedies for ear ringing are below:
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| Bupleurum root | Dried kuduz root | bugbane rhizome |
External pathogenic attacking
Disharmony pattern: acute onset of ear ringing that usually occurs after cold and flu or feverish diseases, the inner ears feel fullness, pressure or blocked. When examining the ears, the eardrums are red or sunken, there may be declined hearing. Others include general pain, headache, chills, fever, mouth dryness, a red tongue with white or yellow thin coating, and the pulse is slight floating or floating and rapid.
In case of severe blockage inside the ears, add herbs like caltrop fruit and sweetgum fruit; serious inflammation, add herbs like baical skullcap root and selfheal fruit spike.
Liver fire flaring-up
Disharmony pattern: sudden ear ringing and hearing declined, a loud ringing in the ears that sounds like tides or wind and thunder, with varying in intensity and often worsening suddenly. The situation will be aggravated when feeling angry or depressed, there may also be pain or pressure in the ears, distending pain in the forehead, dizziness, red eyes and face, bitter taste in mouth, throat dryness, insomnia, irritability, rib side discomfort, constipation, yellowish urine, a red tongue with yellow coating, taut, rapid and forceful pulse.
Therapeutic principle: clear liver, purge heat, release stagnation and unblock ear orifices.
In case of severe heat signs, add Chinese rhubarb (add in the last 10 minutes); significant ear pressure and chest oppression, add in herbs like shrub chastetree fruit and nutgrass flatsedge rhizome.
Phlegm and fire accumulating
Disharmony pattern: persistent ear ringing, sound like cicadas or wind blowing, sometimes the ear channels may be blocked that affects hearing. Other accompanied signs include heaviness in the head, chest oppression, gastric fullness, cough with excess throat secretion, bitter or a bland taste in the mouth, irregular bowel habits or urinary difficulty, a red tongue with yellow greasy coating, rolling and taut pulse.
Therapeutic principle: clear fire, resolve phlegm, harmonize stomach to ensure gastric emptying.
In case of severe heat that experienced hard stools, constipation, yellow sticky throat secretion, bad breath, add herbs like golden thread rhizome.
Kidney essence depletion
Disharmony pattern: persistent cicadas sound inside the ears, worse at night, irritability, poor sleep and declined hearing. Other accompanied signs include blurred vision, dizziness, lumber and knee soreness, warm feelings in the palms and soles, seminal emission in men, excess virginal discharges in women, a red tongue with little coating, thready and rapid pulse.
Therapeutic principle: invigorate kidney, replenish essence, nourish yin and check yang.
In case of kidney yang deficiency, that experienced sensitive to cold temperatures, cold limbs, impotence, poor memory, night frequency, loose bowels, and paleness; add herbs like processed aconite lateral root, cassia bark, and psoralea to warm and strengthen kidney yang.
Spleen and stomach weakness
Disharmony pattern: persistent ear ringing that is soft like cicadas or mosquito sound, often triggered by fatigue or excessive thinking, and worsened when standing up after squatting. There is a sudden feeling of emptiness or coolness in the ear. Commonly accompanied by fatigue, general weakness, low appetite, bloating after meals, loose bowels, sallow face, pale lips and tongue, and weak pulse.
Therapeutic principle: invigorate spleen, replenish qi, raise yang and unblock ear orifices.
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| acorus | cicada slough | Dahurian angelica root |
Insufficiency of heart blood
Disharmony pattern: ear ringing in both ears, varying in intensity, and easily worsens by fatigue. Commonly accompanied by palpitations, insomnia, and a pale complexion. The tongue is pale with a thin white coating; the pulse is thin and weak.
Therapeutic principle: invigorate heart and replenish qi, calm mind, and unblock the meridian collaterals.
Sample prescription: Restore Spleen Decoction plus Siberian solomonseal rhizome and fleeceflower root (processed)
Qi stagnation and blood stasis
Disharmony pattern: chronic ear ringing and/or declined hearing with no significant fluctuations in severity, or gradually worsening over time. Other signs may include chest discomfort, dizziness, irritability, paleness, a darkened tongue or with purplish spots on it, a taut or hesitant pulse. Individuals may have traumatic history or exposed to sudden loud noise.
Therapeutic principle: activate blood circulation, remove stagnant blood, and unblock ear orifices.
If individuals also present qi deficiency, add herbs such as astragalus root and pilose asiabell root; kidney yin deficiency, add herbs cornus fruit, yerbadetajo herb and glossy privet fruit; kidney yang deficiency, add herbs like psoralea, sharpleaf glangal fruit and deer-horn gelatin; blood deficiency, add herbs like black bean coat and angelica root.
Clinically, considering the character of the ear orifices (always be in an unobstructed state, and free flow of ascending pure yang), it is appropriate to select yang-raising and orifice-unblocking herbs, such as bupleurum root, kudzu root, and bugbane rhizome; orifice-unblocking herbs such as acorus, cicada slough, and Dahurian angelica root; they can be used as guide herbs to ensure the herbal effects targeting on the ear orifices. Blood stasis is also a common condition in ear ringing, and blood-activating and stasis-resolving herbs can improve overall efficacy; herbs such as red sage root, angelica root, red peony, common burreed tuber, peach kernel and safflower can be selected for one or two and add into various formulations.
As tinnitus is a symptom of many diseases or conditions, and it can develop over time, leading to a variety of experiences for the patients; the disharmonies of ear ringing may not present in one simple pattern, but in a mixed pattern such as blood deficiency in heart and spleen, or qi deficiency of lung and spleen. It is essential for the patients to keep a record about their daily history, describe the symptoms and characteristics as completely as possible. Keeping the record for two to four weeks, write down the details of every episode, the information is very helpful for your doctor to evaluate your specific pattern and make appropriate treatment decisions.
By keeping this record, it can also help you identify the pattern of occurrence and the treatment outcomes, recognize the aggravated factors or triggers of your ear ringing, and eventually you can work closely with your doctor to find the right solution.
If the symptoms become worse or more frequent despite treatment, ask for a referral to appropriate specialists.
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