Tinnitus Support Group Recap – January 2020
First meeting of 2020! We have some great topics planned for this year! Special thank you to Jesse from Peterborough Acupuncture for joining us this month to discuss acupuncture for Tinnitus. It is the hope that through this group, anyone with Tinnitus can join in to find support from others who have Tinnitus, learn about new therapies to try, test out some of them, and ultimately find hope in knowing they are not alone. Let’s dive into this month’s topic!
This Month’s Group
This month we had 2 individuals with Tinnitus and their spouses join us, as well as Jesse, our guest speaker. Jesse has been practicing acupuncture for 12 years and treated many clients with Tinnitus.
These individuals have had Tinnitus for many years and tried out a variety of therapies to bring down the ringing. Both have tried acupuncture before with mixed results.
What is Acupuncture?
Traditional Chinese Medicine is a holistic practice that includes acupuncture, herbs, massage, and exercises. It’s a way of looking at the body and systems as an interconnected whole. In acupuncture, small needles (they don’t hurt I promise!) are used to stimulate various points on the body. These points are on meridian connections, where systems and tissues meet. Each meridian has many activation points that correspond to nervous system receptors on the skin. The needle stimulates a vary precise spot to alert the brain to the systems connected to that spot.
Acupuncture is multi-leveled; working locally, with the circulatory system, and central nervous system. This is what makes it a great treatment for complex issues. Acupuncture is looking for where we have excess or deficiency in the body. An excess issue typically responds better to treatment, as it’s easier to subtract vs. add.
Acupuncture and Tinnitus
For Tinnitus, 5 meridians correspond to the way the ear connects to the rest of the body. The points along these meridians can help find the root cause and ultimately reduce the volume or the pitch of the Tinnitus. They include the meridians for:
1) Digestion and Eustachian tube
- good if you have ear infections and dietary issues
2) Gallbladder and 3) Triple Warmer
- Both used for Tinnitus influenced by pressure
- Stress
4) Small Intestine
- Used for muscle tension in the neck
5) Kidney’s
- The cooling or anchoring system of the body; if not functioning properly a “flare-up” can occur
- Associated with age
- Best time to work on these is in the winter according to Jesse
For these meridians, points can be on and around the ears, down the arms, and the legs. Other points may include those for the circulatory system, stress, and tension.
What to Expect from a Session
The initial session will include a lot of questions. Knowing your health history gives clues about the root causes and symptoms of the Tinnitus (or other health concern). In the initial and each session, the practitioner will look at your tongue. Sounds weird I know, but the tongue is the map of the organs that displays the “weather of your internal state.” Additionally, your pulse it taken so determine how your circulatory system is working. Treatment can include acupuncture, massage, cupping, and herbs depending on your needs.
After treatment, you may feel tired and your body may feel warm or heavy. That is the body responding by sending signals to those areas through energy (electrical signals from the brain) and blood flow.
If you have environmental triggers, Jesse mentioned that herbs may be a great addition to treatment! Chinese medicine looks at how we function within our environment, so if your environment is influencing your Tinnitus this may be something to try.
Q: “Is it possible to make it worse?”
A: It could, but hard to say. Better circulation to an area that has been under nourished can make it worse temporarily before it gets better. Like when you haven’t used a muscle for a long time, adding circulation to it will cause it to hurt for a bit, but eventually makes it better.
Like many treatments, effects can take time to show themselves. To see if acupuncture will work for you, Jesse suggested trying it out for between 5 and 10 sessions.
At Home
Jesse gave us some practical ways to use Chinese medicine at home using massage. These massage techniques, called Qigong, increase circulation to the ears, nourishing the tissues. Note that if you have increased sensitivity to your ears, these could increase the Tinnitus temporarily.
One he showed us called “beating the heavenly drum” you can see here . The others were particular ways of massaging the outer ear (couldn’t find a good video to show). If you’re interested, I can demonstrate in office.
Conclusion
Like most treatments for Tinnitus, acupuncture is highly individualized and it’s effectiveness can vary from person to person. If you’ve tried acupuncture before it may be worth looking into again with a different approach or practitioner as the results can differ.
Right now, Jesse has a special on waiving the initial consult fee. If you’re interested in booking an appointment, check out his website.
Next Month’s Group Topic
In February, the week we are meeting is actually Tinnitus Awareness Week! We will be talking about how to make the general population more aware of Tinnitus, Tinnitus prevention, advocacy, and more. Please give us a call if you have questions or to let us know you’ll be attending – 705-749-0707.
If you missed last month’s group, that’s okay, check out our recap blog!
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