Tinnitus, a sound prison, may be a little annoying at first, but as it progresses, it becomes an unbearable pain that confines your life.
The important thing here is that tinnitus must be treated, regardless of how the patient perceives it.
Most patients ignore their tinnitus and only seek medical attention when their daily lives are disrupted.
Tinnitus is a warning sound that requires rest and treatment to slow or prevent the progression of hearing loss.
Therefore, tinnitus should be treated early as it is easily treatable and has a low recurrence rate.
If tinnitus persists for more than 5 minutes before falling asleep, start treatment.

--- p.15

Tinnitus is an SOS from the brain telling us that some part of our body is malfunctioning or sick, so we need to take appropriate action.
If tinnitus is considered only as an ear disease, treatment methods will be limited and difficult to treat, leaving patients lost.
The treatment results for tinnitus are better when the weakened body functions and physical strength are restored and improved.
Tinnitus, which was initially heard briefly at night and briefly during the day, gradually becomes heard for longer periods of time and eventually becomes a daily occurrence, which means that tinnitus is getting worse.
Additionally, the difficulty of tinnitus treatment is increasing.
Treatment should begin from an integrative oriental-Western medicine perspective before tinnitus becomes fixed in the auditory nerve pathway that perceives hearing.

--- p.24

There are various noises lurking everywhere in our lives.
Of course, the louder the sound, the higher the chance of tinnitus.
But it's not necessarily the loud noises that cause damage.
Even low-decibel noises can cause noise-induced tinnitus if they persist.
This is because each person has different conditions, such as physical condition and the level of sensitivity of the auditory organ.
Therefore, we need to identify the causes of damage to hair cells in our daily lives and avoid them, and reduce stimulation.
It is also necessary to take time for your ears to rest.
It is difficult to prevent tinnitus and hearing loss in workers exposed to noise through individual care and effort alone.
Therefore, managers should implement education programs for workers regarding hearing impairments such as tinnitus and create an environment that reduces noise.

--- p.29

A prerequisite for a happy old age is healthy ears.
The fact that elderly patients with chronic tinnitus are 1.7 times more likely to experience depression, 1.9 times more likely to experience psychological distress, and 2.5 times more likely to experience suicidal thoughts suggests how important ear health is to the quality of life in old age.
Therefore, if you have any ear problems such as tinnitus or hearing loss, you need to monitor and actively treat them throughout your life.
Since tinnitus and hearing loss are invisible diseases, for the elderly, the family's careful attention and warm care can prevent the progression of tinnitus and hearing loss and increase the possibility of treatment.

--- p.33

In tinnitus, emotional responses have a significant impact on treatment outcomes.
The limbic system in the brain has functions such as regulating emotional states, controlling intellectual functions and autonomic nervous system responses, and storing and retrieving memories.
Depending on whether these three functions turn the tinnitus circuit in a positive or negative way, tinnitus will strengthen its worsening or improving response.
Therefore, tinnitus is treated much better in patients who have a cooperative attitude and trust in the treatment, rather than one of suspicion and impatience.
It is important to recognize that tinnitus is not an incurable disease.
When you decide to forget the tinnitus with the positive thought that you can get better with the right treatment, the tinnitus begins to go away.

--- p.42

Hearing loss has long been considered an irreversible disease.
This is because it is known that auditory hair cells cannot regenerate once their function has ceased.
However, recent studies have revealed that hearing loss is not caused by the death of hair cells, but rather by a decrease in the electrical activity of outer hair cells.
These findings suggest that rehabilitating hair cells could improve hearing loss.
--- p.56

In particular, presbycusis was considered to be an inevitable consequence of aging.
However, recent research results are accumulating medical evidence that appropriate acoustic stimulation can increase the activity of antioxidant enzymes in the cochlea, inhibiting the action of reactive oxygen species and thus preventing damage to hair cells caused by reactive oxygen species.
In other words, hearing improvement can be achieved by restoring hair cells damaged by active oxygen.
Preventing and restoring damage to auditory hair cells can not only slow down the progression of sensorineural hearing loss, but also activate the rehabilitation of the auditory nerve pathway and improve hearing.

--- p.
66

There is a saying that goes, 'If you are blind, you become distant from things, and if you are deaf, you become distant from people.'
Hearing loss threatens life through isolation and loneliness.
Additionally, age-related hearing loss accelerates the decline in cognitive function and increases the risk of developing dementia.
Rather than accepting presbycusis as a part of the aging process and neglecting or accepting it, it is necessary to recognize it as a disease and actively treat it.

--- p.68

Many patients experience sudden hearing loss or tinnitus after vaccination.
Before vaccination, attention must be paid to stabilizing the immune system.
If you have made a vaccination appointment, it is best to check your physical condition and not force yourself to get the vaccination.
In particular, if you have a history of sudden hearing loss, tinnitus, orbital edema, or shingles, it is recommended that you take steps to stabilize your immune system before getting vaccinated.
After vaccination, it is recommended to get enough rest and take acupuncture and herbal medicine to protect your ears from excessive immune reactions.
. --- p.99

Temporomandibular joint disorder, cervical spine distortion, and back pain are also closely related to tinnitus.
It is important to separate the adhesions in the nerve pathways from the cervical spine to the ear to facilitate nerve transmission.
Additionally, treatment is necessary to correct the thoracic spine and stabilize the autonomic nervous system.
From the tailbone to the cervical spine, proper alignment of the spine ensures smooth flow of cerebrospinal fluid, which also facilitates smooth lymphatic circulation.
By making the respiratory structure, including the heart, lungs, ears, and face, and brain healthy through this treatment, tinnitus and hearing loss are also treated.
Another problem with tinnitus is insomnia.
Sleeping in a natural state reduces tinnitus.
The difference in brain wave activity between natural sleep and drug-induced sleep indicates that drug-induced sleep reduces the effects of natural sleep.
After taking a drug, you wake up feeling groggy and like you didn't sleep at all.
While we sleep, our bodies boost our immunity and resilience, and improve cognitive functions, including memory.
However, drug-induced sleep is less effective than natural sleep because the sleep cycle is disrupted, and it is also insufficient in terms of fatigue recovery and improvement of memory and cognitive function.

--- p.140

It is well known that anxiety, depression, and stress not only intensify tinnitus, but also make it more persistent.
If you explain in detail to a tinnitus patient why tinnitus occurs, the hidden causes in the body, and the correct treatment method, the patient's anxiety and depression will decrease.
If we look at tinnitus treatment guidelines from around the world, including Europe, the United States, and Japan, they all commonly emphasize the effectiveness of psychotherapy.
At our hospital, we explain the vicious cycle of learning distorted perceptions and negative emotions about tinnitus through psychological counseling along with the patient's progress, and help them accept tinnitus through positive emotional substitution.
Since tinnitus and hearing loss are long-term treatments, regular consultations with patients, follow-up observations, and awareness education about the disease are important for increasing the cure rate.

--- p.146

Modern life exposes us to factors and situations that can cause problems in our eyes, ears, neck, shoulders, and back.
Therefore, whether you are working, walking, resting at home, or even sleeping, you should consciously make an effort to always maintain good posture.
It is especially important to get out of the same position and stretch at least every 1-2 hours.
Stretching to loosen up tense and stiff muscles periodically can help improve blood circulation throughout the body and even maintain ear health.

--- p.159

The ears and nose are connected both functionally and structurally.
Among patients with rhinitis, there are many patients with tinnitus, hearing loss, and Eustachian tube disorders.
One end of the Eustachian tube is connected to the nose, and if you have chronic rhinitis and cannot breathe through your nose, you end up breathing through your mouth, which damages the mucous membrane of the Eustachian tube.
The opening and closing of the Eustachian tube is done by the autonomic nervous system in a very short time that we are not aware of, and if this movement slows down, the symptom of hearing loss occurs.
In other words, if the Eustachian tube is not healthy, it can cause tinnitus and hearing loss.

--- p.165

In the age of 100, healthy ears are an important condition for a happy life.
Therefore, treatment for tinnitus and hearing loss should not be given up until the very end.
Treating tinnitus is not an easy path, but there is a shortcut.
The reason why our hospital consistently increases the treatment improvement rate and produces good treatment results is because we do not view tinnitus and hearing loss as the cause of tinnitus or hearing loss as being limited to one ear.
Tinnitus and hearing loss are systemic diseases.
Therefore, a multifaceted treatment with an integrated perspective is necessary.

--- p.174

Of course, not all patients require herbal medicine treatment.
However, most tinnitus patients have damaged ear tissue.
Herbal medicine treatment is especially recommended for patients whose hair cells have been damaged by long-term use of toxic drugs.
Herbal medicine containing angelica, cnidium, rehmannia glutinosa, and peony root as main ingredients protects the number and shape of hair cells from factors that attack the ear and keeps them healthy.
Therefore, in order to treat tinnitus and hearing loss, it is essential to check whether there are any drugs that have been taken or are currently being taken for a long time that cause damage to hair cells.

--- p.191

Patients with tinnitus often have complex underlying pathologies.
No matter how good the medicine is, if the patient's physical condition is not good, it is difficult for the medicine to be effective.
Therefore, to increase the absorption rate of herbal medicine and maximize the therapeutic effect, herbal medicine is prescribed in stages.
This removes the toxins from the body and creates an environment in which herbal medicine can be absorbed well.

--- p.196

Emotion regulation breathing techniques are recommended in psychotherapy and are helpful in treating tinnitus and hearing loss.
Anxiety, anger, tension and stress are all bad for your ears and auditory nerves.
It is best to get rid of negative emotions as quickly as possible.
If there is a moment when you need to consciously control your emotions, it is necessary to control your breathing in a quiet place.
When breathing, let go of distracting thoughts and focus only on controlling your inhalation and exhalation.
Meanwhile, negative emotions such as inner anger and anxiety gradually disappear and your mind becomes calm.
Simply breathing well can stabilize your autonomic nervous system.

--- p.222

One of the problems that can worsen tinnitus is sleep apnea.
If you snore loudly or feel tired after a full night's sleep, you likely have sleep apnea.
When breathing temporarily stops while you sleep, the smooth supply of oxygen through blood to the brain is disrupted, which can cause various problems in the ears.
Studies have also shown that sleep apnea often increases blood clot levels, which can impede blood flow and cause damage to the ears.
The quality of sleep is just as important as the quantity of sleep.
If you have sleep apnea, it must be treated to treat tinnitus and hearing loss.

--- p.228