Easy self-massage to soothe tinnitus and ear pain

Soften your inner ear with self-massage

This post has been updated from its original.

Though there are many root causes of ear pain and tinnitus (ringing in the ear), most share a component of muscular tension and decreased circulation around and inside the ear. Congestion inside the ear or sluggish drainage of the fluids inside the brain can be a part of tinnitus and ear pain. Self-massage is one way to move fluids, loosen muscles, and reduce pain and ringing.

Severe and chronic tinnitus can be related to Lyme disease or other serious issues, which will obviously need to be addressed with a darn good doctor. But it’s still nice to have a trick on hand for relieving congestion and tension in the here and now. These self-massage tools have helped me and many of my clients, no matter what underlying conditions may be contributing to symptoms.

Lyme disease-related tinnitus

The brain needs a healthy flow in all of its fluid systems (blood, lymph, and cerebrospinal fluid) to function well. Lyme disease can gunk up all three systems. Lyme bacteria can settle into the lining of blood vessels and create inflammation, restricting blood flow. The toxic load they create also taxes healthy flow in the lymphatic system.

According to a 2018 study on Lyme-infected mice, spirochetes can also colonize the dura - the fluid-filled, protective layer surrounding the brain and spinal cord. Lyme in the dura backs up the flow of cerebrospinal fluid. Restriction in any of the brain’s fluid systems can contribute to pressure and irritation on the structures of the inner ear, causing tinnitus and soreness. Sometimes one ear rings more than the other – this points to restricted drainage on the ringing side.

Self-massage for tinnitus

Scroll down and you’ll find a YouTube video explaining a self-massage practice to soothe tinnitus or ear pain. The technique is basically to reach into your ear, get a good grip, and pull the ear out away from the skull, turning and stretching it as you go to loosen areas of soreness or tension.

This stretching opens the ear canal and widens it. It releases tension in the surrounding muscles. As the ear canal softens, congestion can drain more easily into the eustachian tubes. This massage also seems to soothe pressure and irritation of the ear drum and other structures of the inner ear.

When you practice this technique, don’t be afraid to pull pretty strongly on your ear. Go slow, and ease into it, finding your comfort level. Your ear will move quite a bit, as it needs to in order to loosen the muscles around your auditory canal and the deeper structures inside your ear. Those deep muscles may feel tender and even sore as you stretch them. As always, take your time, breathe, play with it, and let your body help you find your way.

Here’s the link for the tinnitus video, in case it doesn’t show up in your browser.

Other helpful tools

If you want to go further to relieve tinnitus and ear pain, there are many natural and noninvasive ways to improve drainage in the brain. Massage, homeopathy, and visualization can help.

Try massage therapy with someone who can work directly with fluid systems, like a lymphatic therapist or craniosacral practitioner. Or, ask a naturopathic doctor about Lymphomyosot, a homeopathic remedy to improve lymphatic drainage.

For more info, here’s a blog post I wrote about cerebrospinal venous insufficiency in Lyme disease, and how to use visualization to improve circulation in the brain. You can also use my Cranial Healing meditation to relieve tension and congestion.

Thank you so much for reading. The healing path is a practice of softening,

Shona