Case Insight: When Tinnitus, Nausea, and Fatigue Won’t Let Go — A Chinese Medicine Perspective

👤 Mr. Myhre’s Story

Mr. Myhre, 66 years old, experienced a sudden shift in health on October 7, 2022 — the day a constant ringing in his ears (tinnitus) began. On that very same day, he lost his appetite, and things never quite returned to normal.

Over the next year, his symptoms lingered. But three months ago, after returning from a trip to Thailand — where he had just recovered from COVID-19 — things took a sharp turn for the worse.

His tinnitus worsened significantly and began affecting his hearing. He also developed:

• Lost appetite, Vomiting sensations an hour after eating
• Severe fatigue, needing long naps every afternoon
• Insomnia, often unable to sleep until 3 a.m., then waking up exhausted
• Loose stool, nausea, and dizziness
• High blood pressure
• Elevated glucose and liver enzyme levels

He tried various approaches, but nothing helped. On top of all this, he was seeing a physiotherapist for a left rotator cuff injury that continued to cause pain from a years-old trauma.

So what exactly is going on — and how does Chinese medicine explain it?

A TCM View: Constitution & Energetic Imbalance

Mr. Myhre is a Yang Wood person with a Yang Water Yue Ling and a chart dominated by four Yang Earth elements. From a Five Element and BaZi perspective, this combination creates a body constitution where Yang energy easily rises — but there is not enough Yin to anchor it back down.

Let’s break it down:

• Yang Wood represents the Gallbladder system, whose meridian runs straight to the ears.
• Yang Water supports fluidity, hearing, and mental clarity — but can be drained by rising Wood energy.
• Excess Yang Earth (like a mountain) creates density that blocks descending pathways, interfering with digestion and circulation.

This leads to a pattern of upward rebellion — where energy that should descend (like digestion, fluids, and sleep) instead surges upward, causing:

This is the critical turning point.

In Chinese medicine, COVID-19 is seen as a latent pathogen that can lodge in the Shaoyang and Jueyin layers — deeper energetic systems involving the Gallbladder, Liver, Pericardium, and hormonal regulation.

For Mr. Myhre:

• The initial infection disrupted his Gallbladder–Stomach axis, weakening his ability to anchor Yang and digest food properly.
• Yin fluids were depleted further post-COVID — leading to dryness (constant thirst), poor digestion, and sensory overstimulation (tinnitus, lightheadedness).
• Add travel, climate stress, and immune recovery — and his constitution tipped even further out of balance.

In short, COVID didn’t cause the pattern, but it amplified and exposed it, revealing an underlying dynamic of Liver/Gallbladder excess, Spleen deficiency, and Yin depletion.

Healing Strategy: Anchor, Descend, Reharmonize

In Chinese medicine, we don’t treat isolated symptoms like “tinnitus” or “fatigue.” We treat the pattern — the root cause beneath the surface.

The treatment approach included:

1. Anchoring Yang and Restoring Yin
   → KD3, SP6, Ren4 — nourish Yin fluids, help Yang descend
2. Clearing Gallbladder and Liver congestion
   → GB34, LV3, SJ5 — open Shaoyang axis, relieve pressure on ears
3. Supporting the Earth (Spleen/Stomach)
   → ST36, SP3, PC6 — calm nausea, improve digestion and appetite
4. Calming the Shen (spirit)
   → HT7, Yintang, LU7/KD6 — regulate sleep-wake cycle, reduce mental tension

Progress Timeline

🔹 After 1st Treatment:

• Tinnitus slightly reduced at times
• Sleep improved — fell asleep around 1 a.m. instead of 3 a.m.
• A few days of normal blood pressure

🔹 After 2nd Treatment:

• Appetite improved
• No more loose stool or dizziness
• No more vivid dreams or afternoon naps
• Even went out for a long bike ride

🔹 3rd Treatment:

• Came in with cough and shoulder pain
• Cough often follows biking or snowboarding (common in Wood types)
• 5 minutes after needling: cough nearly gone, shoulder greatly improved
• Advised to shift toward weight-based exercise instead of fast-moving activities

(Want to know why biking worsened his cough? Read: Why Spring Allergy Affects Wood Types)

🔹 4th Treatment:

• Tinnitus improved 50%
• No more nausea or dizziness
• Bowel movement normalized
• No cough since last session

🔹 After 5th Treatment:

• Less thirst
• But tinnitus surged around 12:15 a.m., right during Gallbladder time (11 p.m.–1 a.m.)
• As a Yang Wood (GB) person, sleep before 11 p.m. is crucial — yet he has always gone to bed around 1 a.m.

🔹 After 6th Treatment:

• Tinnitus very low but still present
• Mr. McKellar traveled again, which may impact stability

Final Thought: What Chinese Medicine Teaches Us

Mr. Myhre’s case is a reminder:
Healing is not about suppressing symptoms. It’s about restoring rhythm.

When energy rises without a root, digestion weakens, sleep suffers, and the mind becomes unsettled. Chinese medicine works by anchoring what floats, softening what’s tense, and guiding the body back to balance.