Question: In the past month I have started to get ringing in my ears. Is there something TCM can do to help this condition? I am a musician who is in my mid-fifties.
Answer: If your physical ear does not have a problem—tests show that there is no actual damage to the ear—tinnitus or ringing sounds in the ears is related to what TCM calls a function disorder. This is an “energy” problem. In TCM’s Five-Element theory the ear is considered the “gateway” or opening of the Kidney. Another way of putting this concept is that the ear is a sort of Kidney “energy detector.” If your Kidney energy (called “Qi” in Chinese) is deficient, much like a home smoke detector when there’s smoke or fire, your ears (either one or both) will have a sound. Read more
