Natural Ways.

Here we will focus on several treatments or techniques that can be described as alternative medicines.
Although these methods are not known to cure tinnitus, they can only be beneficial, especially by reducing the level of stress.
And we can also highlight the obvious merits of a multiple therapeutic approach involving different pathways.
Each case being unique, it is up to each one to put in place the solution or axes of therapies that will fit and bring some improvements.

Natural Ways – The Main Ways

The thermal cure

This type of treatment is traditionally recommended for the treatment of rheumatic and respiratory conditions.
However, many stations offer treatments specifically adapted to tinnitus.
They combine the following:
• The natural benefits of thermal water and the generally preferred climate of the spa.
• With personalized care including quality care and targeted workshops or activities provided by qualified therapists and specialist physicians.
Thermal medicine offers the patient a therapeutic immersion for one to three weeks, the goal being to regain a better balance between body and mind.
Depending on the location, the waters will be rich in trace elements (limestone, sulfur, magnesium), and/ or reputable minerals active on the treatment of tinnitus such as zinc and lithium.
For the treatment of tinnitus, the thermal cure option may be relevant when tension and stress are the triggering or aggravating factor.
Studies have shown the value of comprehensive management based on all the techniques that will reduce stress, for example the use of cognitive therapies, Patient and caregiver speaking groups to help you learn about and accept your illness.
In general, any non-invasive method to improve the general physical and emotional state of the patient is likely to help the patient overcome the gene.

However, these cures are not meant to cure the patient, and their goal is rather to relieve his tinnitus and learn to live with it to improve his daily life.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medicine used for millennia to treat many ailments.
This traditional practice considers that all the organs of the body are connected by a vast energy network whose axes are called «meridians».

This approach is interesting because it seeks to take into account the whole body and the different relationships between the organs and our nervous system.
Therapy involves planting fine needles in specific body areas, with the goal of restoring energy circulation within the body.
Acupuncture sessions, lasting 30 to 45 minutes and usually weekly, are not painful.
The acouphenic symptoms find for this traditional Chinese medicine their origin in a trauma at the level of the cervical spine interrupting the flow of information between the neck and the head, a dysfunction of the liver or the spleen or an abnormality in the kidney.
Traditional Chinese medicine considers that the kidney is closely linked to the hearing aid. This is why acupuncture often suspects a renal disorder when it comes to treating tinnitus.

However, the results obtained by acupuncture for the treatment of tinnitus are mixed. Some patients reported frank improvements, while others did not notice any real benefit.

Osteopathy

According to some specialists, this technique does not work for all tinnitus.
But there is a certain type of tinnitus that can be extremely well relieved by osteopathy: the so-called somato-sensory tinnitus.

This represents only about 10-15% of all tinnitus.
The symptoms are precise: the patient hears whistling, associated with buzzing, they are located on a single ear and are intermittent.

They appear as a result of trauma (cranial or cervical), a fall, an accident, the practice of a violent sport, after a general anesthesia, or even after dental care.
This auditory sensation perceived by the patient would be generated by dysfunctions in the jaw joint. Stretching the ligaments in the area can disrupt the inner ear and thus create tinnitus.
The osteopath will therefore perform manipulations to rebalance your jaw.

Meditation

Among other alternative medicines, meditation has its place in the treatment of people with tinnitus.

We are particularly interested in the Meditation of Full Consciousness (MBCT), developed in the late 1970s by Doctor Jon Kabat Zin.
This Doctor in molecular biology from the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA), has developed a method which consists of intentionally paying attention to internal experiences (sensations, emotions, thoughts, states of mind) or external of the present moment, without making value judgments.
In the case of tinnitus, it is not a question of trying to “fight” or “push them away”, but rather of “accepting” them in order to live better with it.
Mindfulness is not meant to change the nature or sound of tinnitus, but therapy can make tinnitus less intrusive, so much so that it is no longer a problem.
According to another of its promoters, Dr Marks, “The approach to mindfulness is radically different from what most people with tinnitus have already tried, and this may not be suitable for everyone. MBCT transforms the traditional treatment of tinnitus. Rather than trying to avoid or mask the noise, it teaches people to stop the battle with tinnitus”
It is therefore also a question of breaking the relationship between tinnitus and stress, which often turns into a vicious circle.

Tai chi and Yoga

The purists will certainly howl when seeing these two traditional disciplines from Asia placed side by side.
They have in common to propose a set of movements associated with breathing techniques.

Similar to a form of gymnastics, Tai-Chi is based on a set of continuous and circular movements that must be executed with precision and slowness. Breathing also plays an important role.

Well known in the West for decades, yoga leads us to the search for our psychic and physical balance.
Combined with the practice of meditation, yoga is known for its beneficial action on the symptoms of tinnitus.
In the treatment of tinnitus, the effectiveness of yoga comes from the fact that it helps to reduce stress, to act on the blood circulation, to relieve possible stiffness or joint inflammations and to improve the functioning of the immune system.
We are talking here about muscle development, and improving the flexibility and balance of the body.
It is therefore by reducing the tensions induced and/ or caused by tinnitus that yoga will have a positive therapeutic effect.

Due to their soothing and re-balancing virtues, Tai-Chi and Yoga are given the power to reduce the discomfort experienced with the acouphenic symptoms.
Again, there is no question of healing.
Rather, one can see these two disciplines as elements of a range of combined techniques, each in its own way contributing to the reduction of the existence or perception of tinnitus.

Natural Ways – Others Techniques

We shall now briefly discuss a few other natural techniques, which we have not yet seen to have provided any real evidence of benefits regarding the treatment of tinnitus.
Let us therefore repeat here that in the perspective of the treatment of this complex pathology and often difficult to define, the plurielle approach of care is to be preferred.

So if you already practice one of these techniques, or if you just want to try, why not?
We do not advise against them. We simply say that they have not proven themselves in the framework that concerns us.
All these natural methods have in common to be neither dangerous nor addictive: if they fail to cure your tinnitus, they may only bring you some others benefits.

The reiki

Reiki is a form of ancient medicine, of Japanese origin, which consists in the imposition of hands in order to dissipate certain energy nodes that would be the cause of internal blockages and multiple dysfunctions.

The shiatsu

This technique, also called digitopuncture, is similar to a form of vigorous massage exerted by pressure of the fingers on the entire body. The goal of shiatsu is to achieve the energy balance of the body.

Reflexology

Reflexology, when seen practiced, can be likened to a form of massage dispensed at the level of feet, hands or ears. Indeed, Chinese medicine considers that each organ of the human body is intimately connected to a specific point located under our feet, in our hands or in the region of the ear.

The cranio-sacred therapy

Also known as craniosacral therapy, this form of treatment is a kind of cranial osteopathy that took off in the years 1990-2000 in the United States.

Auriculotherapy

Auriculotherapy is a complementary health technique that uses the stimulation of reflex points located on the ear. It was developed in 1950 by Dr Paul Nogier, a general practitioner from Lyon (France). It is a kind of acupuncture of the ear whose beneficial effects on tinnitus need only be evaluated by a scientific study.