No I have not lost my mind and gone crazy. But as I research Tinnitus, and in particular, methods of treatment I get hooked on reading about some of the procedures used in the past to find tinnitus relief.

I find it really interesting that in many cases, with a few obvious exceptions, our current thoughts about natural remedies as a means of achieving lasting relief can be favourably compared to earlier times when chemical drugs were not even dreamed of.

It seems the Egyptians used to refer to ‘the bewitched ear' and used for their relief various mixtures of oil and frankincense, which is actually tapped from trees like rubber used to be, and herbs which they would apply into the outer ear, poking it in with reeds.

The Persians used whispering and chants to the god of water in their quest for tinnitus relief. There is no proof that this worked, but seriously, if the victims thought it did and stopped concentrating on the tinnitus sounds they were actually practicing what we today refer to as sound distraction.

Oh the Romans – Well they had a more sophisticated view of the disease and tried to establish the cause before applying the treatment. If the cause was a cold then relief came by cleaning the ear and holding your breath until your ear excreted the offending mucus. If the cause was perhaps an injury then the treatment included a potion of radish and cucumber juice and honey with vinegar being poured into the ear.

So you see that tinnitus relief with the use of natural herbs and medicines was thought to be effective then – and it still is, though perhaps our treatment methods are a little different.

To conclude this short history journey, in the Middle Ages in Britain, the Welsh used to break freshly made bread and gouge out pieces and insert them into the ear. Yes of course, you recognise ‘candling'.

So whilst some of these old tinnitus relief treatments may seem a little bizarre there is strong evidence that despite many centuries of experience and experiments we still rely on natural remedies as a major part of our tinnitus  relief therapy.