Tinnitus 25 Years; Have Tried Everything; Acupuncture Helping

[C Richman]

I grew up with perfect hearing.. all through school and college. One day when I was about 22 years old I started hearing ringing in my head that wouldn't go away. I had been doing a lot of music recording is music studios and a brief case fell on my head on a train. I had also had terrible ear infection, all within about two years of the tinnitus onset, so I am not sure which of any or if all of them caused my tinnitus. It gave me acute anxiety and I was a mess. OK so I didn't want a low quality of life so I just had to accept the darn ringing and get one with it.. But my hearing went back either because of it or separately. So now I was not only hearing ringing but I couldn't comprehend normal conversation without the person repeating it.

Twenty five years later. I got through law school with an almost A average and worked my way up to being a Partner in law firm despite the darn ringing and the hearing loss. First, I learned to read lips and second I disciplined my brain to ignore the sounds as if were white noise like - traffic, humming from an AC, rain outside - you get the point. I wanted a high quality inner life and the only way to achieve that was to accept the darn noise and my disability (despite no one seeing it or caring about it and just generally annoyed by it.)

Fast forward, 2017. I am on a cruise (Veendam) and they had a lecture on Acupuncture. I had nothing better to do than to go because the children were in the teen Loft and my husband was in the Casino.. So I sat with mostly older people in some kind of pain.. and I raised my hand. "Can you help me with tinnitus and hearing loss?" The Acupuncturist was a Chinese national male doctor, tall and very educated. He looked at me and immediately said "Yes we treat tinnitus and hearing loss." The light bulb went off. OK, I thought, I am going to give it shot. It's what a hundred bucks? Insurance doesn't cover it but that would be almost a co-pay for Western medicine right?

Later that day, I went to his office. I was absolutely terrified of getting needles poked in me (for any reason whatsoever). He gave me topical anesthetics and away he poked.. To my surprise I hardly felt a thing and it didn't hurt.

So I laid there with twenty needles stuck in me and heat shining down at me and the wait began..

Half and hour later he returned, pulled the needles out and I got up and left.

Did anything change? No, I thought. But ... later that day my daughter with a faint high voice was speaking to me and I could actually understand what she said.... and this started happening over and over again. When I got home I ACTUALLY UNDERSTOOD THE CASHIER AT THE FAST FOOD WINDOW..

Was the ringing gone? No but IT WAS LESS. It wasn't like an instant gratification now you hear it now you don't.. but it was a slight but ever important improvement making me HEAR BETTER.

When I got back to Florida I found a local Acupuncturist. He too said he could help me and he's added a chinese herb. I'm telling you THAT ACUPUNCTURE IS HELPING ME.
I still have tinnitus but the sound it slowly getting quiet. It's not "shezam its gone" but IT IS WORKING. I am only writing on this blog because after 25 years of hearing aids and all kinds of pills and drops and other things.. this is something that is actually helping me.

I do still have tinnitus but it's getting quieter and my hearing is getting better.

For anyone struggling.. you might want to try acupuncture..

Despite the fact that I have been living happily WITH tinnitus, life would sure be better without it. For anyone depressed over it...choose not to allow it to mess with your inner serenity..

Thanks and God Speed!

 

[fishbone]

I grew up with perfect hearing.. all through school and college. One day when I was about 22 years old I started hearing ringing in my head that wouldn't go away. I had been doing a lot of music recording is music studios and a brief case fell on my head on a train. I had also had terrible ear infection, all within about two years of the tinnitus onset, so I am not sure which of any or if all of them caused my tinnitus. It gave me acute anxiety and I was a mess. OK so I didn't want a low quality of life so I just had to accept the darn ringing and get one with it.. But my hearing went back either because of it or separately. So now I was not only hearing ringing but I couldn't comprehend normal conversation without the person repeating it.

Twenty five years later. I got through law school with an almost A average and worked my way up to being a Partner in law firm despite the darn ringing and the hearing loss. First, I learned to read lips and second I disciplined my brain to ignore the sounds as if were white noise like - traffic, humming from an AC, rain outside - you get the point. I wanted a high quality inner life and the only way to achieve that was to accept the darn noise and my disability (despite no one seeing it or caring about it and just generally annoyed by it.)

Fast forward, 2017. I am on a cruise (Veendam) and they had a lecture on Acupuncture. I had nothing better to do than to go because the children were in the teen Loft and my husband was in the Casino.. So I sat with mostly older people in some kind of pain.. and I raised my hand. "Can you help me with tinnitus and hearing loss?" The Acupuncturist was a Chinese national male doctor, tall and very educated. He looked at me and immediately said "Yes we treat tinnitus and hearing loss." The light bulb went off. OK, I thought, I am going to give it shot. It's what a hundred bucks? Insurance doesn't cover it but that would be almost a co-pay for Western medicine right?

Later that day, I went to his office. I was absolutely terrified of getting needles poked in me (for any reason whatsoever). He gave me topical anesthetics and away he poked.. To my surprise I hardly felt a thing and it didn't hurt.

So I laid there with twenty needles stuck in me and heat shining down at me and the wait began..

Half and hour later he returned, pulled the needles out and I got up and left.

Did anything change? No, I thought. But ... later that day my daughter with a faint high voice was speaking to me and I could actually understand what she said.... and this started happening over and over again. When I got home I ACTUALLY UNDERSTOOD THE CASHIER AT THE FAST FOOD WINDOW..

Was the ringing gone? No but IT WAS LESS. It wasn't like an instant gratification now you hear it now you don't.. but it was a slight but ever important improvement making me HEAR BETTER.

When I got back to Florida I found a local Acupuncturist. He too said he could help me and he's added a chinese herb. I'm telling you THAT ACUPUNCTURE IS HELPING ME.
I still have tinnitus but the sound it slowly getting quiet. It's not "shezam its gone" but IT IS WORKING. I am only writing on this blog because after 25 years of hearing aids and all kinds of pills and drops and other things.. this is something that is actually helping me.

I do still have tinnitus but it's getting quieter and my hearing is getting better.

For anyone struggling.. you might want to try acupuncture..

Despite the fact that I have been living happily WITH tinnitus, life would sure be better without it. For anyone depressed over it...choose not to allow it to mess with your inner serenity..

Thanks and God Speed!

Ty for your story and i am glad it had a positive impact on you

I tried that quite a few times and it did nothing for my tinnitus. It did relax me a bit but i saw no difference in my tinnitus volume at all...

 

[C Richman]

They said that they can treat high frequency tinnitus but not low frequency. I have the high frequency (high tea kettle whistle) so maybe that's why it's helping me. They did say that it takes 10-12 sessions to have a profound difference but my own experience is showing minor subtle differences even only after 2 sessions.. I heard my wine refrigerator beep for the first time ever and I've had it since 2011. I guess it's different with every case - what might be good for one might not work for another but oddly this seems to be helping me.. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Shera]

When my T got worse in March I had soooooooo much noise. Acupuncture helped to quiet it down and leave me with less noises. (I still have quiet a few.) It did help with my higher frequencies. The area I'm at has limited acupuncture people and I've been curious to get it from a real Chinese style. Not a mash up of Western acupuncture.

Mine is caused by neck injury and apparently TMJ that didn't fully pop out until month 4 of my onset. I got my jaw put in place and now do massages. The massage seems to help and I do TMJ exercises now. I don't do the acupuncture or chiropractic treatments anymore because they stopped helping.

Keep us posted on your treatments. I'm curious to know just how much better you get. Not just with the T, but the hearing loss.

 

[Bobby B]

@C Richman
Thanks for sharing the info

Can you elaborate where he did plant the needles - and what type were those , how deep ?

There is a Chinese guy local where I live and he claims on his web site he can improve Hearing loss but he sticks deep needles right around the ear and auditory nerves that's a bit risky perhaps

 

[C Richman]

He put the needles in my feet, my leg shins, my abdominal area, my hands, my neck, ears and temples and two on top of my head. I was like a porcupine. He said hearing loss and tinnitus had to do with Yin depletion in the kidney or something like that. He also gave me a Chinese herb Liu Wei Dihuangwan to take 3x a day - no side effects. TCM is a slow long term process .. I'll keep all updated after a few sessions an let you know if it is clearing up and if my hearing is getting better. I'm seeing significant improvement already with phone conversations - it's bizarre.

 

[canuhearmenow]

That's great to hear, I'm glad for you..

There is also something called Accupressure, where you apply pressure to relative points on the bodies meridian lines, that people might find worth researching.

 

[Tagette]

I am a newbie and am looking at trying trying acupressure and maybe self treatment to help with tinnitus. This post was the only one I could find on the subject so I thought it would be a good place to start a conversation. This is my first time on any kind of forum so sos if I am not following correct protocol.
I have tried the acupressure points before - TB1, TB2, and LI4 on the hands (don't try L4 if pregnant) - and had little success but have gone back because of the unpleasant symptom of feeling my left ear is blocked even when it isn't.

TB 1 (TB is the Triple Burner or Triple Heater meridian) is now reducing the noise level of the rumble type tinnitus in my right ear. I decided to try and see what was happening at other end of the TB meridian (this runs up behind and over the right ear) I do not know if it was these that I was pressing or the gall bladder meridian (GB) but here is a link to tinnitus acupressure points on the head - type 'tinnitusdx.com' into google image or acupressure points for tinnitus should probably do the same. Pinterest definitely has pins on the subject. All I know those pressure points were very tender, a sure sign of imbalance.

One note of caution. I suspect this is because all of us are wired slightly differently so a definitive answer for the whereabouts of say, TB1, will often produce slightly different acupressure maps. The one I used (from Beryl Crane's Reflexology The Definitive Practitioner's Manual) has TB1 on the ring finger just above the crease between the ring finger and the smallest finger, not deep in the crease between the two as many illustrations show. Be prepared to experiment.

Still go the blocked ears feeling tho' so must do more on that.

I'd love to know if anyone gets results or of other people's experiences with acupressure and related treatments.

 

[Lisa2018]

I grew up with perfect hearing.. all through school and college. One day when I was about 22 years old I started hearing ringing in my head that wouldn't go away. I had been doing a lot of music recording is music studios and a brief case fell on my head on a train. I had also had terrible ear infection, all within about two years of the tinnitus onset, so I am not sure which of any or if all of them caused my tinnitus. It gave me acute anxiety and I was a mess. OK so I didn't want a low quality of life so I just had to accept the darn ringing and get one with it.. But my hearing went back either because of it or separately. So now I was not only hearing ringing but I couldn't comprehend normal conversation without the person repeating it.

Twenty five years later. I got through law school with an almost A average and worked my way up to being a Partner in law firm despite the darn ringing and the hearing loss. First, I learned to read lips and second I disciplined my brain to ignore the sounds as if were white noise like - traffic, humming from an AC, rain outside - you get the point. I wanted a high quality inner life and the only way to achieve that was to accept the darn noise and my disability (despite no one seeing it or caring about it and just generally annoyed by it.)

Fast forward, 2017. I am on a cruise (Veendam) and they had a lecture on Acupuncture. I had nothing better to do than to go because the children were in the teen Loft and my husband was in the Casino.. So I sat with mostly older people in some kind of pain.. and I raised my hand. "Can you help me with tinnitus and hearing loss?" The Acupuncturist was a Chinese national male doctor, tall and very educated. He looked at me and immediately said "Yes we treat tinnitus and hearing loss." The light bulb went off. OK, I thought, I am going to give it shot. It's what a hundred bucks? Insurance doesn't cover it but that would be almost a co-pay for Western medicine right?

Later that day, I went to his office. I was absolutely terrified of getting needles poked in me (for any reason whatsoever). He gave me topical anesthetics and away he poked.. To my surprise I hardly felt a thing and it didn't hurt.

So I laid there with twenty needles stuck in me and heat shining down at me and the wait began..

Half and hour later he returned, pulled the needles out and I got up and left.

Did anything change? No, I thought. But ... later that day my daughter with a faint high voice was speaking to me and I could actually understand what she said.... and this started happening over and over again. When I got home I ACTUALLY UNDERSTOOD THE CASHIER AT THE FAST FOOD WINDOW..

Was the ringing gone? No but IT WAS LESS. It wasn't like an instant gratification now you hear it now you don't.. but it was a slight but ever important improvement making me HEAR BETTER.

When I got back to Florida I found a local Acupuncturist. He too said he could help me and he's added a chinese herb. I'm telling you THAT ACUPUNCTURE IS HELPING ME.
I still have tinnitus but the sound it slowly getting quiet. It's not "shezam its gone" but IT IS WORKING. I am only writing on this blog because after 25 years of hearing aids and all kinds of pills and drops and other things.. this is something that is actually helping me.

I do still have tinnitus but it's getting quieter and my hearing is getting better.

For anyone struggling.. you might want to try acupuncture..

Despite the fact that I have been living happily WITH tinnitus, life would sure be better without it. For anyone depressed over it...choose not to allow it to mess with your inner serenity..

Thanks and God Speed!

@ c richman could you provide me with contact details of this european chinese accupuncturist?
Thanks a lot in advance

 

[Lilah]

How often do you have to do acupuncture? How many sessions total? Or is this a lifelong thing?

 

[Lane]

I just ran into the following tinnitus testimonial on another forum for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (also known as ME/CFS). Here's a LINK to the entire post... -- @Wolfears

"I've had tinnitus since shortly after the first onset of my illness, 24 years ago. It has gradually gotten worse over the years, and the worst thing about it is that it has gotten to the point where I react to virtually all prescription medications that have tinnitus as a side effect (whether it's listed in the prescribing information or not). I would estimate that that's about 90% of all medications. There are quite a few medications that have helped me in the past, and that would help me now, but that I can't take due to my tinnitus.

I've been researching this for a while, and I've found a number of good treatments. However, it's not clear what the proper dosages of some of the medicines in the treatments should be. So I thought I'd list the treatments I've found here, in order of efficacy, and if anyone can add any information about dosages, or other treatments that are known to work for many people, I'd be glad to add these in. Here are the treatments I've found:

• Acupuncture. This is definitely the most effective treatment I've found, and I've been using it almost since the beginning of my tinnitus. Repeated applications can cause the tinnitus to gradually disappear, and in many cases disappear entirely. The effect is lasting, but new episodes of tinnitus can be triggered by the same triggers that caused the original episodes, such as loud noise, or especially in my case, specific medications. If I want to take a medicine that causes tinnitus on a long term basis, acupuncture is not powerful enough to keep up with the tinnitus that the medication causes.
  
  Acupuncture tends to be expensive in the West, and it can take quite a few treatments to get rid of tinnitus. Fortunately, there are just three main acupuncture points around each ear for tinnitus, and it's easy to learn them. Once you do, you can do your own acupuncture, which is what I've been doing for the last 15 years with great success."

 

[HeavyMantra]

Starting my acupuncture treatment in 3 weeks. In sweden there is an option to do it for free kind of, you only have to pay about 100 dollars per year, after that healthcare is free. Free but completely useless in most cases... However, there are some good practitioners too. I hope this lady is one of them, a private physical therapist specialized in tinnitus and acupuncture.

 

[Agrajag364]

I grew up with perfect hearing.. all through school and college. One day when I was about 22 years old I started hearing ringing in my head that wouldn't go away. I had been doing a lot of music recording is music studios and a brief case fell on my head on a train. I had also had terrible ear infection, all within about two years of the tinnitus onset, so I am not sure which of any or if all of them caused my tinnitus. It gave me acute anxiety and I was a mess. OK so I didn't want a low quality of life so I just had to accept the darn ringing and get one with it.. But my hearing went back either because of it or separately. So now I was not only hearing ringing but I couldn't comprehend normal conversation without the person repeating it.

Twenty five years later. I got through law school with an almost A average and worked my way up to being a Partner in law firm despite the darn ringing and the hearing loss. First, I learned to read lips and second I disciplined my brain to ignore the sounds as if were white noise like - traffic, humming from an AC, rain outside - you get the point. I wanted a high quality inner life and the only way to achieve that was to accept the darn noise and my disability (despite no one seeing it or caring about it and just generally annoyed by it.)

Fast forward, 2017. I am on a cruise (Veendam) and they had a lecture on Acupuncture. I had nothing better to do than to go because the children were in the teen Loft and my husband was in the Casino.. So I sat with mostly older people in some kind of pain.. and I raised my hand. "Can you help me with tinnitus and hearing loss?" The Acupuncturist was a Chinese national male doctor, tall and very educated. He looked at me and immediately said "Yes we treat tinnitus and hearing loss." The light bulb went off. OK, I thought, I am going to give it shot. It's what a hundred bucks? Insurance doesn't cover it but that would be almost a co-pay for Western medicine right?

Later that day, I went to his office. I was absolutely terrified of getting needles poked in me (for any reason whatsoever). He gave me topical anesthetics and away he poked.. To my surprise I hardly felt a thing and it didn't hurt.

So I laid there with twenty needles stuck in me and heat shining down at me and the wait began..

Half and hour later he returned, pulled the needles out and I got up and left.

Did anything change? No, I thought. But ... later that day my daughter with a faint high voice was speaking to me and I could actually understand what she said.... and this started happening over and over again. When I got home I ACTUALLY UNDERSTOOD THE CASHIER AT THE FAST FOOD WINDOW..

Was the ringing gone? No but IT WAS LESS. It wasn't like an instant gratification now you hear it now you don't.. but it was a slight but ever important improvement making me HEAR BETTER.

When I got back to Florida I found a local Acupuncturist. He too said he could help me and he's added a chinese herb. I'm telling you THAT ACUPUNCTURE IS HELPING ME.
I still have tinnitus but the sound it slowly getting quiet. It's not "shezam its gone" but IT IS WORKING. I am only writing on this blog because after 25 years of hearing aids and all kinds of pills and drops and other things.. this is something that is actually helping me.

I do still have tinnitus but it's getting quieter and my hearing is getting better.

For anyone struggling.. you might want to try acupuncture..

Despite the fact that I have been living happily WITH tinnitus, life would sure be better without it. For anyone depressed over it...choose not to allow it to mess with your inner serenity..

Thanks and God Speed!

You clearly did so well to say stuff the tinnitus and to develop a successful careers as a lawyer and that in itself is inspirational. The acupuncture thing is exciting. Though I did try this and it actually started up tinnitus in my good ear for a few weeks! Went back down. Think the guy who did it did it badly though and my neck tensed up.