Read below to learn about how to use these powerful oils to possibly help your condition.
Table of Contents
Best Essential Oils for Tinnitus
Below are descriptions of some of the most effective essential oils for tinnitus to reduce ringing in the ears.
Choose the one that sounds like it will work the best for the individual’s needs.
1. Helichrysum
The helichrysum is a member of the sunflower family and is sometimes called the Everlasting flower, as the flowers last a long time when dried.
Helichrysum essential oil has been used through the ages to promote skin healing and reduce inflammation.
Because tinnitus can be caused by inflammation in the ears and problems with the nerves in the neck and ears, using helichrysum oil may reduce the inflammation in these areas and may ease the ringing sound heard.
Add a few drops to fractionated coconut oil and place around the ears to ease tinnitus symptoms.
Helichrysum essential oil drains excess fluids from the body and has circulatory stimulating effects, too.
It also has anti-inflammatory properties that can prevent ear wax buildup and may reduce any nerve damage that may have occurred to cause tinnitus.
2. Lavender
Lavender essential oil has a pungent floral scent.
Lavender is one of the most popular of all essential oils due to the many calming effects the oil’s scent contains.
The essential oil of the lavender flower reduces anxiety and stress for many people.
Anxiety and stress may contribute to tinnitus, so reducing your stress levels may help ease the symptoms.
Another quality of lavender essential oil is that it acts as a decongestant, which can clear air passages, aid in circulation in the head and ears, and aid in reducing the intensity of tinnitus.
3. Juniper Berry
Juniper berries are the seed pods of the juniper tree.
The scent is like pine, but stronger and hotter.
People have used juniper berries to cleans the blood and detox their systems.
If tinnitus is due to inflammation or infection, juniper berry essential oil may be just the holistic treatment needed to reduce or eliminate the ringing sounds.
4. Cypress
Cypress essential oil is used to stimulate blood circulation.
If a person has pulsing tinnitus, they may have a problem with the blood circulation in their ears.
Using cypress oil around the ear will increase blood circulation and lessen the intensity of the ear’s ringing.
Cypress also calms a person’s nerves.
So if a part of the cause of tinnitus is stress, using cypress oil should reduce the amount of stress and nervousness a person experiences, thereby improving their hearing and reducing tinnitus.
5. Patchouli
Patchouli has a spicy sweet scent which becomes more intense with time.
Patchouli oil increases the circulation in the ear as well as helps ear drainage.
The oil of the Pogostemon cabli plant emits a fragrance that people either love or hate.
Combine helichrysum oil and patchouli oil for an excellent source of relief from ringing in the ears.
The two have properties that enhance each other.
Patchouli essential oil inhibits the growth of fungus and bacteria inside the ear when gently massaged into the earlobe, behind the ear, and to the neck next to the ear.
Use patchouli in small doses, as it tends to relax people.
6. Basil
Basil essential oil is used as an antispasmodic, which means it soothes muscles and can calm the throbbing sensations in the ear that may accompany tinnitus.
This is especially helpful if a person’s tinnitus is caused by stress, muscle contractions or nerve contractions in the ear.
Basil oil is calming and soothing to the nerves and emotions, too. if you use basil oil only use green or sweet basil oil.
7. Petitgrain
Petitgrain oil is derived from the bitter orange’s leaves. Petitgrain essential oils balance the nervous system and are antispasmodic.
So if the individual’s tinnitus is caused by spasms of the muscles or nerves in the ear, petitgrain essential oil may calm these spasms.
Petitgrain is very relaxing for people suffering from stress, and may also improve an individual’s stress levels, too.
How To Use Essential Oils for Tinnitus
Do not put essential oils into your ear.
To use essential oils for tinnitus, apply two or three drops on the earlobe, behind the ear, and to the neck by the ear. Massage the oil into the skin gently.
Essential oils are distilled from natural plants, bark, blossoms and other plant materials.
The good essential oils are very potent and should always be diluted in a good carrier oil such as Olive, Grape seed, Coconut and Almond oil before they are applied to the skin.
The treatments may be inhaled or placed in the areas around the ear.
Don’t put the oil directly into the ear.
Essential oils can be blended and combined to suit an individual’s needs according to the symptoms being experienced.
If a person has tinnitus due to inflammation, try using juniper berry and helichrysum oils in combination.
If the ringing sound is pulsing and might be due to stress, try combining petitgrain and cypress essential oils in equal amounts, combined with a carrier oil.
If the ringing may be due to nasal or ear congestion, use a few drops of lavender and helichrysum oil to lessen the sound of the tinnitus.
Combine one drop helichrysum oil, one drop of basil oil, and one drop of carrier oil. Place the combination on a warm, damp cotton pad.
Place the cotton pad on the outside of the ear for a minute or two to gain relief from ear congestion and soothe tinnitus.
Causes of Tinnitus (Ringing In The Ears)
Loss of the sensory hair cells in the cochlea of the inner ear is the most frequent cause of ringing in the ears.
If the ears are exposed to loud sounds routinely, tinnitus may result. Also, tinnitus is frequently accompanied by hearing loss and age.
Medications that are ototoxic, such as aspirin, antibiotics, ibuprofen, and diuretics may cause damage to the inner ear those results in ringing in the ears.
Other Common Causes of Tinnitus
• Head and neck injuries.
• Earwax or a foreign object touching the eardrum.
• Problems with the Eustachian tube.
• TMJ.
• Ear infections.
• Middle ear bone stiffening.
• Traumatic brain injury.
• Diabetes.
• Cardiovascular disease.
If tinnitus sounds like a heartbeat, there may be a tumor or growth causing a connection between veins and arteries in the ear.
The heartbeat sound is caused by blocked circulation in the ear.
This kind of ringing in the ear needs medical evaluation as soon as possible.
Symptoms of Tinnitus
• The sound occurs in one or both ears.
• The sound can be described as a squealing sound, either low or high pitched.
• Other descriptors used for the ringing of the ears sound include chirping, whistling, clicking, hissing, roaring, or buzzing.
• The volume of the ringing sound varies in volume.
• The sound is more noticeable during quiet periods or at night.
• The ringing sound is usually related to hearing loss.
It is important to make sure that you always use a carrier oil when using essential oils to help Tinnitus.
Proper essential oil safety would also require what’s known as a patch test.
This is where you apply 1-2 drops of diluted essential oil on the inner forearm and then cover with a bandaid for up to 48 hours.
If no skin irritation or rash has occurred that is a fairly good indication of whether or not you should use the oil to help with your tinnitus.
While tinnitus is hard to treat, many have found relief using essential oils.
The purpose of using essential oil is to lessen the intensity of the ringing sound.
Who Should Not Use Essential Oils for Tinnitus
Pregnant women, women who are trying to get pregnant and nursing women should use no essential oils without first consulting their doctor.