Natural Remedies for Tinnitus

Natural remedies for tinnitus like acupuncture, herbs, and zinc are popular but have not been proven safe and effective by research. However, since there is no cure for tinnitus and the available medical treatments do not work for everyone, many people turn to complementary and alternative treatments to get relief from tinnitus symptoms.

This article goes over several natural treatments for tinnitus and covers what the current research says about their effectiveness.

Woman outside in front of ginkgo biloba trees, holding ginkgo biloba leaf
Meng Yiren / Moment / Getty Images

Ginkgo Biloba

Gingko biloba is a popular herb that alternative health practitioners recommend for conditions like anxiety, asthma, diabetes, erectile dysfunction, fatigue, glaucoma, and high blood pressure.

Some people believe Ginkgo biloba can improve blood flow, reduce inflammation, and alter the way nerve cells work. These effects are thought to improve tinnitus in some people.

There is only limited evidence that Ginkgo biloba can help people with tinnitus. A 2022 Cochrane review of studies did not find enough evidence to support using Ginkgo biloba as a treatment for tinnitus on its own or combined with other treatments, like hearing aids.

A 2017 review concluded that evidence was mixed as to whether Gingko biloba could help. In their conclusion, the researchers stated that "Ginkgo biloba may somewhat improve tinnitus."

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat many medical conditions, including tinnitus. Acupuncture is claimed to restore the flow of the body's life energy (qi) and, by doing so, improve health.

A 2020 review of studies on acupuncture as a treatment for tinnitus concluded that while there is not enough evidence to confirm it helps, it might be worth exploring further.

A 2022 review of studies found that while it’s possible acupuncture could be helpful for some people with tinnitus, the quality of the research so far has not been strong enough to confirm the benefits.

A 2016 review in the European Archives of Otorhinolaryngology compared Chinese- and English-language studies on the subject and noted biases and flaws in many of them. The researchers wrote that acupuncture "may offer subjective benefit." Subjective benefit suggests that people may feel like acupuncture helped them, even if it did not improve their tinnitus symptoms objectively.

Zinc Supplements

The essential mineral zinc helps nerve signals get to the brain, including those that are involved in hearing. Some research suggests that zinc deficiency may interfere with hearing signals and could contribute to tinnitus, but there is debate in the scientific community about whether this is true.

A 2016 Cochrane review did not find evidence of a benefit based on three randomized controlled studies that included 209 people with tinnitus. None of the studies reported any significant change in the loudness of tinnitus after zinc supplementation.

A 2015 study reported low levels of zinc in 100 older adults with tinnitus. The study's findings were limited because zinc deficiency is common in the United States, affecting 35% to 45% of older adults.

A 2019 study included 20 patients with tinnitus and noise-induced hearing loss who were treated with zinc supplements for two months. They were compared to 20 patients who did not have tinnitus. At the end of the study, about 85% of the patients with tinnitus reported improvements, but there were no objective changes in their hearing tests.

Some studies suggest that zinc supplements may help improve tinnitus in a small percentage of people. But the quality of the evidence is not strong.

Meditation and Relaxation

Some people with tinnitus find that mindfulness meditation and techniques like relaxation help them manage their symptoms.

A 2017 study looked at whether mindfulness meditation or relaxation therapy would help 86 people with tinnitus. It was a small study, but participants in both groups reported that they’d found these techniques helpful. However, more people in the meditation group reported feeling helped by the practice compared to the relaxation group.

A 2019 study found that meditation may help people with tinnitus by alleviating anxiety and improving their coping skills. This effect was thought to be similar to how cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) can reduce tinnitus-related distress.

Ginseng

Ginseng is a popular herb in alternative and complementary medicine. Some research has explored whether Korean red ginseng can help with tinnitus symptoms.

For example, a 2015 trial that included 61 tinnitus patients compared Korean red ginseng and ginkgo biloba extract. After four weeks of treatment, the patients who had taken Korean red ginseng reported improvements in their tinnitus symptom scores as well as their mental well-being.

However, reviews of research on alternative remedies for tinnitus, including Korean red ginseng, point out that most studies have been small and limited, so more research is needed to prove any benefits and evaluate the possible risks.

Yoga

Yoga is a stress-reducing practice that has been explored as a possible treatment for tinnitus.

For example, a small study had 12 people with tinnitus take a yoga class once a week and do their own yoga practice at home for three months. At the end of the study, the participants noted lower levels of stress, and their scores on metrics showing how tinnitus symptoms that were negatively affecting their lives seemed to improve.

Another small study in 2019 had 25 tinnitus patients do a 12-week yoga course. Some of the patients in the group also had an MRI of their brain before and after the yoga training. At the end of the study, participants reported improvements in sleep, quality of life, and their sense of “control” over tinnitus symptoms. When the researchers looked at the brain scans, they noted possible changes in brain connectivity when comparing the “before and after” yoga training.

A 2021 review of research concluded that yoga and other techniques that use meditation may help people with tinnitus by lowering stress, anxiety, and irritability that are linked to their symptoms. However, the authors noted that more controlled research would need to be done to evaluate how effective yoga really is for people with tinnitus.

Biofeedback

Biofeedback is a technique where you learn to control body functions that are usually automatic, like your heart rate and breathing. Biofeedback is often used to treat tension headaches and insomnia or to reduce a person's response to chronic pain.

Unlike the other alternative treatments, biofeedback is not intended to reduce tinnitus symptoms. Instead, it is used to decrease tinnitus-related distress. By doing so, a person can learn to cope with tinnitus and improve their quality of life.

A specific type of biofeedback called neurofeedback is being studied as a treatment for tinnitus. A 2017 review of studies concluded that neurofeedback "may be a promising method" for some types of tinnitus, but more research is needed.

In 2023, researchers looked at using neurofeedback to help patients with tinnitus and found that the results were mixed, and as with similar studies that came before it, there’s just not enough evidence to prove it works.

Summary

There’s no cure for tinnitus, and available medical treatments don’t work for everyone with the condition. Some natural remedies for tinnitus may have possible benefits, but experts say there isn’t enough high-quality research to prove that complementary and alternative tinnitus treatments are safe and effective.

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Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
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Cathy Wong

By Cathy Wong
Cathy Wong is a nutritionist and wellness expert. Her work is regularly featured in media such as First For Women, Woman's World, and Natural Health.