coffee enema and tinnitus

[bad1080]

idk if i am going crazy or what but yesterday i did a coffee enema in order to help my GI issues and afterwards i discovered to my surprise my tinnitus was gone. i was quite surreal because it is basically constant at this point, most of the time rather quiet but definitely noticeable, sometimes louder (usually under stress). today it is back already but there seems to be a connection here...

not sure what to make of it but i thought i'd share ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

edit: found this:

As far as I've found the best strategy for easing adrenal stress is coffee enemas. This clears the liver, which also alleviates stress on the adrenals. My tinnitus has now become a barometer of my adrenal stress. When there's hissing, and my irritability returns, I know it's time for coffee enemas to clear the system. An uncongested liver will also handle the histamine load better.

from: https://forums.phoenixrising.me/threads/mast-cells-and-tinnitus.31229/post-478945

these are about drinking coffee (study with "65,085 women"):

There was a significant inverse association between caffeine intake and the incidence of tinnitus.

from: https://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-9343(14)00198-3/fulltext

and the same thing here (study with "13,448 participants"):

In addition, the frequency of coffee consumption had an inverse correlation with tinnitus in the 19⁻64 years age group but its association was related with hearing.

from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30287741/

 

[Dysfunkion]

What guide on how to do it did you follow and what products did you use? I'm scared of taking the plunge but want to eventually. Like stirring up something really nasty and then getting even sicker. Did you feel anything else from it?

The whole gut/immune relationship with this all is so complex though. I found it's like one immune chain reaction and gut reaction fuels another. I've managed to get the tinnitus to go away completely before after a raw egg before for a super short period of time (wasn't able to repeat this either) and one other time when I ate a massive dose of activated charcoal. No matter what though it always comes back. Fasting for up to the 3 days I can make it doesn't do much. Seems more to do with the immune system getting stuck on something and then the gut and microbiome gets effected which then effect everything else.

I know how you feel though, just one thing off and your entire system goes haywire. That's why I always get irritated with everyone who just chants "fix the gut!" because just working on it is like building a sand castle near the ocean and then one thing you can't control comes through from daily life and you're starting all over again with a mess with a different symptom set that's like someone hit a shuffle button on all your old one's.

 

[bad1080]

Did you feel anything else from it?

my belly feels the best afterwards, like the sun is rising in it. and i don't feel hyper or energized from the caffeine either, quite the contrary it's rather soothing when administered that way. i am on zero caffeine in my daily life and have been for a while, so just a single cup of black tea has me on alert for hours.

What guide on how to do it did you follow and what products did you use?

i read a couple of guides and approximated between them. i use organic coffee (that one seemed important because of pesticides), filtered water and a regular enema set. i brew a thin coffee (one tablespoon on 0.5l of water) in a french press for 5-10mins and mix it with cold water until the temperature is right, roughly another 0.5l (correct temperature is important as well, better too cold than too hot. my enema bag has a handy indicator when the temperature is right).

edit: added some links to the OP

 

[Wayne]

i did a coffee enema in order to help my GI issues and afterwards i discovered to my surprise my tinnitus was gone.

Coffee enemas can be very powerful healing tools, doing everything from stimulating the vagus nerve which brings harmony to the whole body, to doing major detoxification. And a lot more as well, like alleviating major pain (including migraines), depression, and much more.

I ran across an article (linked below) a few years ago that seems to tie in with your experience. Sometimes tinnitus can be caused by infection related toxicity (like Lyme or candida), but it can be caused by a number of other things, including disharmonies in the body.

Tinnitus: How an Alternative Remedy Became the Only Weapon Against the Ringing​

​

Some selected snippets from the article:​

​

I have tinnitus. I have had it for 14 years. When my ears started ringing, I ran around to various doctors seeking a cure, until one of them took pity on me and explained that there was no cure. I would have to get used to it.​

​

I discovered the Chinese approach to understanding and dealing with tinnitus by wandering into Acumedic’s clinic on Camden High Street in north London last year out of curiosity. Not expecting that they could offer any help with a condition that leaves Western medicine baffled, I didn’t mention that I had tinnitus. The female doctor told me to stick out my tongue – tongue analysis is a basic diagnostic tool in this system – and after examining it, she asked, “Do you have ringing in your ears?” ......​

​

An imbalance between your organs affects the harmony between blood circulation and qi, and this in turn translates into an imbalance of yin and yang.” By closely inspecting one’s tongue and taking one’s pulse, they obtain an accurate idea of the state of one’s internal organs. They then proceed to treatment. ......​

​

I had no good reason to suppose it would have any effect, and for two or three weeks the ringing continued as normal. But then, as I continued to slurp my daily potion, I realised with surprise that things had begun to improve. I woke in the morning resigned to the usual relentless racket – and it was different: first it lost its ringing quality, so all that remained was a sustained shushing; then the shushing itself reduced, to the extent that sometimes I was able to forget about it for hours at a time.​

​

Dr Lily had explained that the ringing in my ears was caused by an internal imbalance, which the tea she prescribed was intended to correct; now, lo and behold, it was taking effect and my baffling condition was getting appreciably better. Eventually, I would ask myself: am I still suffering from tinnitus? It would take a conscious check to confirm that, yes, there was still this fuzziness clouding my hearing. But for many hours and days I would be all but unaware of it.​

 

[bad1080]

Tinnitus: How an Alternative Remedy Became the Only Weapon Against the Ringing

Six weeks ago, on the advice of Dr Lily, I gave up alcohol completely to give the treatment the best chance of working, and I remained on the wagon until yesterday. But for much of that period the ringing in my ears came and went with a will of its own. At the end of the period I was just as baffled by the condition as I had been at the start.

sadly he doesn't mention if that was only alcohol-free or with continued treatment, especially since he said earlier:

I stopped for a couple of months

because of the costs but he also says "to give the treatment the best chance of working" so i guess it was >with< continued treatment.

 

[bad1080]

an additional mystery is how the rosemary tea i drink for my digestion is aggravating my tinnitus. usually it is only so loud i can ignore it but since i started the tea it has been noticeably louder to the point where i can no longer ignore it.
seems to be another connection between tinnitus and the digestive track and/or microbiome, just in the opposite direction (tinnitus up instead of down)... or whatever the rosemary tea does puts additional strain on the liver, could be a detox reaction maybe

edit: it seems like the coffee enema was not able to overcome whatever the tea did to my tinnitus, it's a bit better but not silent like the last time

 

[Dysfunkion]

Rosemary or any herb never really increased or decreased mine. Rosemary is weird though, sometimes I'll consume it and I'll get really drowsy but other times nothing will happen. I can occasionally have it but I don't make a habit out of it. The only things I ever ingested before that stopped my tinnitus was once a raw egg (and then never again) and another time a large amount of activated charcoal which I also again wasn't able to repeat. So there is definitely some link involving the gut I don't think or thing or the other is a cause as much as something is severely dysregulated causing problems in both directions. Though it's somehow possible to stop temporarily from non-repeatable reactions in the gut. Even fasting when I made it through day 4 doesn't do anything.

I am in a nasty tinnitus and mild ear pressure spike right now but just stressful emotions did it, last time I had a spike this brutal was a year ago. Too much activity makes it a bit more reactive, annoying. It's not as bad as a yesterday though. Hearing is fine, didn't blow anything out. Almost feels like some virus locally activated but nothing new going on anywhere else. Would be interesting to see what a high dose of activated charcoal would do to it right now but since nothing else but time seems to be directly touching it I'm not gonna give things a chance to get worse if that goes wrong since it can also make me extremely tired.

 

[Wayne]

So there is definitely some link involving the gut I don't think or thing or the other is a cause as much as something is severely dysregulated causing problems in both directions.

Hey @Dysfunkion -- When I was researching rosemary tea and tinnitus today, I ran across a reference to something I'd not heard of before, but which you seem to be alluding to. Below is some AI generated "elaboration" on the topic.

Spoiler: Gut-Ear-Brain Connection

Gut–Ear–Brain Connection
There’s growing evidence of a gut–inner ear–brain axis:

• Certain gut microbiome changes can influence systemic inflammation and microcirculation, including in the cochlea.
• Some people with ME/CFS experience “cross-talk” between digestive triggers and sensory symptoms (e.g., tinnitus, visual snow, hyperacusis).
• If rosemary tea is altering gut motility, bile acid secretion, or microbiome composition, it might transiently change immune or neurochemical signaling that affects the auditory system.

---

Vascular & Autonomic Factors
Tinnitus loudness often fluctuates with blood flow, blood pressure, and autonomic balance. Rosemary is known to:

• Increase peripheral circulation in some contexts.
• Affect blood pressure slightly, depending on dose and individual sensitivity.
  In someone with dysautonomia or blood flow regulation issues (common in ME/CFS), this could amplify tinnitus temporarily.

---

Detox or “Unmasking” Reactions
If rosemary stimulates liver activity, bile flow, or mild detox pathways, it might temporarily:

• Increase circulating metabolites, histamine, or inflammatory mediators, which could heighten tinnitus perception.
• Unmask existing inner-ear sensitivity that’s normally “quiet” enough to ignore.

 

[Dysfunkion]

Hey @Dysfunkion -- When I was researching rosemary tea and tinnitus today, I ran across a reference to something I'd not heard of before, but which you seem to be alluding to. Below is some AI generated "elaboration" on the topic.

Spoiler: Gut-Ear-Brain Connection

Gut–Ear–Brain Connection
There’s growing evidence of a gut–inner ear–brain axis:

• Certain gut microbiome changes can influence systemic inflammation and microcirculation, including in the cochlea.
• Some people with ME/CFS experience “cross-talk” between digestive triggers and sensory symptoms (e.g., tinnitus, visual snow, hyperacusis).
• If rosemary tea is altering gut motility, bile acid secretion, or microbiome composition, it might transiently change immune or neurochemical signaling that affects the auditory system.

---

Vascular & Autonomic Factors
Tinnitus loudness often fluctuates with blood flow, blood pressure, and autonomic balance. Rosemary is known to:

• Increase peripheral circulation in some contexts.
• Affect blood pressure slightly, depending on dose and individual sensitivity.
  In someone with dysautonomia or blood flow regulation issues (common in ME/CFS), this could amplify tinnitus temporarily.

---

Detox or “Unmasking” Reactions
If rosemary stimulates liver activity, bile flow, or mild detox pathways, it might temporarily:

• Increase circulating metabolites, histamine, or inflammatory mediators, which could heighten tinnitus perception.
• Unmask existing inner-ear sensitivity that’s normally “quiet” enough to ignore.

I was thinking of targeting the vascular system again, woke up with some pulsing in the ear drum in the ear which is another indicator that some rhythm with the blood flow got messed up. I still have lumbrokinase on hand but what sucks is I'm just gonna have to tank this for now since even if calming things down from the lumbrokinase works it also greatly reduces my energy and messes up something in my nervous system temporarily inducing anhedonia so since I go back to work next week I'm just gonna tank this and hope it goes away in time. Also having a bunch of fish this weekend which tends to beat back viral reactivations well with me so I'm just keeping the faith here with what little time I have before I'm back to the grind until next Summer. Of course this spike has to happen right before I go back, love my body. I swear it's like looking both ways before crossing the street and getting hit by an airplane.

 

[Wayne]

woke up with some pulsing in the ear drum in the ear which is another indicator that some rhythm with the blood flow got messed up.

Real briefly, have you have tried or considered applying DMSO to your ears? Improves circulation, reduces inflammation. High safety profile, though you'd want to start a trial with a very small amount. I used to do it regularly, but have gotten out of the habit. I do apply some to my eyelids almost every day, which greatly reduces eyestrain from computer use. I think I'll get back to also applying it to my ears and see if it affects my tinnitus.

 

[bad1080]

not quite tinnitus but related nonetheless:

"Association between gut microbiota and sensorineural hearing loss: a Mendelian randomization study"

Results
The inverse-variance weighted results suggested that Lachnospiraceae (UCG001) had a significant protective effect against SNHL (odds ratio = 0.85, 95% confidence interval: 0.78–0.93, P = 6.99 × 10−4). In addition, Intestinimonas (odds ratio = 0.89, 95% confidence interval: 0.82–0.97, P = 8.53 × 10−3) presented a suggestively protective effect on SNHL. Rikenellaceae (RC9gutgroup) (odds ratio = 1.08, 95% confidence interval: 1.02–1.15, P = 0.01) and Eubacterium (hallii group) (odds ratio = 1.12, 95% confidence interval: 1.00–1.24, P = 0.048) suggestively increase the risk of SNHL. The results of the reverse MR analysis showed that there is no significant causal effect of SNHL on the gut microbiota. No significant heterogeneity of instrumental variables or pleiotropy was detected.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10616596/

 

[Wayne]

I'm currently doing some targeted reflexology to try to improve my tinnitus. I started doing it several years ago after I first heard about deep brain stimulation suppressing tinnitus.

Spoiler: Short Transcript from PBS Video Link 4:50 - 6:15

Transcript (4:50–6:15)​

(approximate wording, cleaned up from the YouTube version)

Narrator/Reporter:
“Interestingly, doctors treating patients with Parkinson’s disease stumbled on a surprising finding. When electrodes were implanted deep in the brain to stimulate the basal ganglia—a technique called deep brain stimulation—patients reported that their constant ringing simply vanished.”

Dr. (specialist being interviewed):
“We were trying to relieve their tremors, but several patients told us that when the stimulation was turned on, their tinnitus was gone. When it was switched off, the ringing came back.”

Narrator/Reporter:
“That discovery has fueled new research into whether electrical stimulation of these brain circuits could become a therapy for severe tinnitus.”

Here's how I got the idea to try reflexology for my tinnitus. Many years ago, I read a book on reflexology, which of course had a number of success stories, one of which was particularly extraordinary. The author's client was a woman who had serious heart issues, and so the reflexologist would work on the areas of her feet corresponding to the heart. But those areas were extremely tender and painful, and the work was going slowly.

After a few sessions, the reflexologist decided she had to move things forward a little faster, and so began to use more pressure. It was difficult for the woman, but she went along with it. All of a sudden in the middle of a session, the woman on the table lets out a bone chilling shriek, and totally startled the reflexologist who was working on her. She of course wanted to know what was going on.

The woman related that she all of a sudden experienced what felt like a bolt of lightening run from her foot to her heart. Here's what was even more interesting--and encouraging. Her heart problems all went away after that experience. Somehow, enough nerve energy was transmitted from the foot to the heart that it totally corrected whatever was not going right (could have been some subtle electrical activity in the heart, but I don't really know).

When I heard about deep brain stimulation improving tinnitus, I thought of that story. I thought that deep brain stimulation just might be accomplished by using reflexology instead of having to undergo some kind of operating room procedure. So I began massaging my big toes regularly (which corresponds to the head). I definitely had some very tender spots, and wasn't all that gung ho about doing it in the beginning.

But as I persisted, the tender areas worked out quite well, and I usually noticed a greater sense of relaxation settle into my body. I also got a subtle sense it was calming my brain as well. Both seemed to subtly improve my sleep quality as well. -- Nothing definitive to report, but I'm looking at the long view here. If I do this regularly year after year, could that be enough to make a difference in the overall intensity of my tinnitus?

To be honest, I may never know, as I'm doing so many other things at this time as well. I'm currently pinning most of my hopes on daily mHBOT combined with modified intermittent fasting. I do feel my tinnitus has tamped down from its original mostly out of control screeching mode. @Zebra -- Reflexology might be something for you to consider for your gut issues.

 

[Dysfunkion]

Real briefly, have you have tried or considered applying DMSO to your ears? Improves circulation, reduces inflammation. High safety profile, though you'd want to start a trial with a very small amount. I used to do it regularly, but have gotten out of the habit. I do apply some to my eyelids almost every day, which greatly reduces eyestrain from computer use. I think I'll get back to also applying it to my ears and see if it affects my tinnitus.

I have not but if there any risk to doing that or anyone that had a bad reaction to it?

 

[bad1080]

Here's how I got the idea to try reflexology for my tinnitus

thanks for the recommendation, i am going to start using my spiky massage ball on my feet

 

[bad1080]

idk if the ball helped but i slept very well last night, even on my lower cannabis dose. (and i walked really funny after using it)