Tinnitus (Ringing in the Ears)

This has been variously described as resembling the humming of a ventilator or fan, a buzzing sound, a steady roar like a waterfall, or the hissing of a pressure cooker. This sound is perceived intermittently or permanently in one or both ears, or in some other part of the head, when there is no external sound source. External noises may, however, either worsen or temporarily drown out the sounds in the head.

Tinnitus is unpleasant and difficult to cope with, although it is almost always a benign condition. While a medical consultation may sometimes be able to trace the cause of the sounds, treatment is most often a difficult process.

Osteopathy and chiropractic

Small muscles in the neck can sometimes block and pinch certain networks of nerves. The most common symptom produced is pain, but various nerve troubles can also result, including dizziness and tinnitus. Once a medical examination has localized the source of the muscle spasm, manipulation of the spine eliminates the troublesome symptoms almost immediately. Some patients who have already had their symptoms treated in this way soon come to recognize the signs of a cervical blockage, see their practitioner without delay, and know they will soon obtain relief from a simple adjustment.

Treatment Schedule: As few as two sessions, ten days apart, may bring signs of improvement.

Acupuncture and mesotherapy

These two therapies are both worth trying, as they soothe nerves, help relax muscle spasms, and relieve pain generally.

Treatment Schedule: Five or six sessions, one week apart, of acupuncture or mesotherapy, or a combination of the two, are sometimes enough to bring relief when everything else has failed.

I have placed mesotherapy among the non-medicinal therapies, as it uses only tiny injectable doses of traditional medicines or homeopathic blends, and it strikes me as being similar to acupuncture, both in its areas of application and in its results. It is still classified as one of the reflex therapies. This therapy is more common in France and is rarely used in Britain. Those who do use it are GPs who have trained in homeopathic medicine.

Electro-Acupuncture

This is sometimes used to reinforce the effects of traditional acupuncture. A weak electric current is delivered by a nerve stimulator through needles or carbon electrodes. It is primarily used for chronic pain, but some practitioners advocate it for stubborn cases of tinnitus.

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS)

This is a neurophysiological technique, derived from numerous scientific studies undertaken in an effort to understand how acupuncture works. It has become more practical in recent years through the miniaturization of the TENS equipment, and is now used mainly in pain management centres for the treatment of such conditions as the after-effects of amputations, or shingles. But some acupuncturists also use it for tinnitus.

Acupressure and shiatsu

These two therapies, of Chinese and Japanese origin respectively, are based on the massage, rubbing, and stretching of acupuncture points, or of points that examination reveals to be painful. They may well be of use in tinnitus, as they both seek to restore the circulation of energies that may have been disrupted. Sessions usually last half an hour or one hour, and are repeated weekly.

In very resistant cases of tinnitus, a condition for which there are not many therapeutic solutions available, it is important to be both open to new ideas, and very patient. Before deciding that a particular treatment has done no good, you should be willing to try several sessions, as these are often necessary before even the beginnings of an improvement can be seen.

Homeopathy

Aurum and Glonoinum

Four 5c tablets of one or both of these remedies to be sucked slowly between meals, twice a day for several weeks.

Aurum metallicum

- Mineral origin: the metal gold
- The homeopathic remedy for vascular congestion in the head
- The symptoms appear most readily among the elderly and those prone to depression

Glonoinum

- Chemical origin: nitroglycerine, usually used for chest pains (angina)
- The homeopathic remedy for circulatory problems with a rush of blood to the head
- A specific indication: the condition is made worse by heat

• You could also try Lehning@ Aurum Complex 38, whose ingredients include Aurum muriaticum 8x:
  - Available in boxes of 80 tablets
  - One tablet, sucked three times a day
• It is also important that you combine these treatments with a constitutional remedy, to be chosen after consultation with a professional homeopath. Some likely choices are Aurum, Baryta carbonica, or Sulfur

Oligotherapy

Manganese and cobalt

Trace elements are usually found in a varied and high-quality diet. In cases of deficiency they can be given as medicinal supplements.

Dietary sources of manganese

This is primarily to be found in plants, especially whole-grain cereals, chocolate, oil-producing nuts (such as almonds, walnuts, and hazelnuts), wheatgerm, some herbs and spices (cloves, ginger, and thyme), vegetables (carrots, beetroot, chestnuts, beans, peas, and soya beans), coffee, and tea. It is pretty much nonexistent in animal products (meat, fish, or eggs) or fruits.

Dietary sources of cobalt

This mineral cannot be synthesized by the body, and comes essentially from animal products: meat, milk, and shellfish (crayfish), plant and vegetable matter contains only a form of cobalt that our bodies cannot use.

• Manganese-cobalt treatment: this combination is available in various brands and forms, such as Organic Minerals (Colloidals) which contains 70+ trace minerals:
  - Available in 946ml bottles
  - Take 1-3 caps just before breakfast and/or evening meal
  - Children 1 teaspoon daily for each 20lbs of body weight

Or Maximol (Ionized colloidals):

- Available in 500ml bottles
- Take 1/2 capful once or twice daily on an empty stomach

Herbal remedies

Garlic, ginkgo biloba, and melilot for their effects on circulation.

Angelica, hawthorn, and black horehound for their soothing action.

These two groups of plants can be taken singly or in combination.

Angelica

Angelica promotes blood circulation, as well as having antispasmodic effects that make it useful for colicky pains and aerophagia (nervous swallowing of air, producing abdominal wind). Angelica is widely used in cakes and pastries, in confectionery, and is one of the ingredients in Benedictine liqueur.

Possible Prescription: Ask your herbalist to make up 60ml bottle of mother tincture of ginkgo biloba. Take 25 drops in a little water, three times a day.

• You could also ask your herbalist to prepare a 60ml bottle of melilot or hawthorn in a whole fresh-plant suspension (this formulation's cold stabilization process restores the full natural therapeutic effect of the plant). Take half a teaspoonful in a little water morning and evening

Melilot

This fodder plant, which thrives on fallow land and in limestone areas, contains natural blood-thinners that are very beneficial for circulatory problems. Melilot also has calming, antispasmodic properties, which have recommended it for use in mild problems of the autonomic nervous system.