Korean Herbs Are Safe and Effective for Tinnitus?

Bojungikgitang and banhabaekchulchonmatang in adult patients with tinnitus, a randomized, double-blind, three-arm, placebo-controlled trial - study protocol http://www.trialsjournal.com/content/11/1/34

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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20346181

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http://blog.williamaveryhudson.com/?p=378 study of Korean herbal remedies for tinnitus

Kim NK, Lee DH, Lee JH, et al. Bojungikgitang and banhabaekchulchonmatang in adult patients with tinnitus, a randomized, double-blind, three-arm, placebo-controlled trial–study protocol. Trials. 2010
Mar 28;11:34. PubMed PMID: 20346181.

Investigators at Wonkwang University undertook a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to determine the efficacy and safety of the herbal medications bojungikgitang and banhabaekchulchonmatang in the treatment of tinnitus.

Neither the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) nor the European Medicines Agency (EMA) have approved treatments for this disorder, defined as a perception of hearing a sound for which there is no external acoustic source and that is often associated with sudden, temporary hearing loss.

Bojungikgitang and banhabaekchulchonmatang are herbal preparations used in Traditional Korean Medicine. Both are approved by the Korea Food and Drug Administration as herbal medications for adults with tinnitus.

In this study, Bojungikgitang was prepared from extracts of Astragali radix, white ginseng, Atractylodes rhizome white, Glycyrrhizae resina, Angelicae gigantis radix, Fraxini cortex, Cimicifugae rhizoma, and Bupleuri radix. Banhabaekchulchonmatang was prepared from extracts of Pinelliae rhizoma, Hordei fructus germinatus, Fraxini cortex, Atractylodes rhizome white, Massa medicata fermentata, Atractylodis rhizoma, Zingiber officinale, Astragali radix, Ginseng radix alba, Ginseng radix alba, Gastrodiae rhizoma, Polyporus, Alismatis rhizoma, Zingiberis rhizoma siccus, and Phellodendri cortex.

Participants received bojungikgitang, banhabaekchulchonmatang, or a placebo for eight weeks, prepared as a tea with tepid water. Each participant was examined for signs and symptoms of tinnitus before and after taking their medication. Post treatment follow-up was performed two weeks after the final administration.

The authors found evidence for the efficacy of bojungikgitang and banhabaekchulchonmatang, based on the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory, an acoustic examination and visual analogue scale. Safety was demonstrated by complete blood cell count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, blood chemistry, urine analysis, PA chest film, brain computed tomography, otologic examination, and vital signs.

 

Now I have to find out where to get the herbs!!!

 

Treatment protocol
Participants received bojungikgitang, banhabaekchulchonmatang, or a placebo-drug for eight weeks. Oral administration occurred according to the following statements:

Patients in group 1 received bojungikgitang (see Additional file 1) and instructions on how to make the tea; they consumed a packet of the medicine (12.52 g) with tepid water three times a day at 30 minutes after meals.

Patients in group 2 received banhabaekchulchonmatang (see Additional file 2) and instructions on how to make the tea; they consumed a packet of the medicine (12.52 g) with tepid water three times a day at 30 minutes after meals.

Patients in group 3 received the placebo medicine (powdered extract), used in the same way as in groups 1 and 2.
The defined daily doses (DDDs) of these herbal medicines should be determined based on the specifications and analytical procedures of drug products in KFDA guidelines. However, no pilot study has been reported so far.

Placebo medicine
Hanpoong Pharm and Foods Co., Ltd., produced the placebo medicine according to Korea Good Manufacturing Practice (KGMP) standards. They developed a homogeneous powdered extract of yellow colour, which was made by mixing 1.118 g of cornstarch, 1.118 g of lactose, 6.80 g of Allura red, 1.05 g of Brilliant Blue, and 5.65 g of tartrazine. The colour, form, weight, odour, and taste of the placebo were very similar to the treatment medicines.

 

I will have to call the Korean stores around and check out their herbs. Hopefully one of the 4-5 stores will have the herbs. I also have an acupuncture store next to mine and I will check with her. Maybe she can get these herbs for me

 

Hi @calin, any success with this? I'm guessing no ...

 

I asked my local acupuncturist about the herbs and haven't heard back.

I did call around and there were some available. I guess it is worth a try to see if they can be obtained locally. Didn't pursue it. I am not ready to try any more new herbs right now. Someone else could though!

 

Nice find, can anyone post a link on where to buy some, would be really helpful. Damn it is hard to find, but it must be out there somewhere maybe on some Korean site!

 

I'm convinced that anything I can find in the Vitamin Shoppe won't help me. (Vitamin Shoppe ... American store ... Olde English spelling?) Although some people here like Magnesium ... I might try chelated magnesium.

I'm currently more interested in the exotic stuff from Asian countries, since most people probably haven't tried them ... except for Asians ... I wonder if there are Asian tinnitus forums??? Perhaps they know something we don't?

 

Ive seen the ingrediants ,mostly Chinese herbs by the way.
The thing Is I have to say ,this goes against the wholepremise of Traditional Chinese medicine.Where you treat the person not the symptom ,and In that world Tinnitus could be caused by so many different syndromes.

This is a case of western ideology looking at just the symptoms again and one size does NOT fit all.

 

This is interesting. @carlover, can you comment on the success of Traditional Chinese medicine? Although I imagine it would be hard to compare Chinese and Western from the patient's point of view since Chinese and Western patients probably have different definitions of "good" health ... but do you know if Chinese prefer Western medicine, or do they use a combo approach?

 

Hi Job ,this gives you an example http://bconroytc.wikispaces.com/Tinnitus+-+TCM

Many chinese acupunturists and Herbalists In the UK (the ones that are actually Chinese descent ) have usually trained in a western hospital as well as a TCM hospital (for many years as well) Cantsay if chinese peopleprefer one or the other,i think they seem to use both in combo

 

Whether or not this is a study worth paying attention to, I'm definitely glad you shared it Calin. It seems that the ingredients at least don't have negative side effects and might be good for the body in other ways even if not for tinnitus, so worth a shot if it's easy enough to find the herbs!

The closest I came to finding these herbs was figuring out that Bojungikgitang is probably Bu-Zhong-Yi-Qi-Tang, which is easy to find online, even on amazon.com.

The ingredients of the one I've eyed on amazon aren't identical to the ones Calin shared, and that's the hardest part of this search (and I also have zero leads on where to find banhabaekchulchonmatang). By the way, I also came across Bu-Zhong-Yi-Qi-Wan and Bu-Zhong-Yi-Qi-Pian. According to another tinnitus forum (from 2010) talking about this study, the difference between Wan, Pian and Tang might be something like the difference between pill, tablet and decoction. My main goal is to find any Bu-Zhong-Yi-Qi substance with similar ingredients to this study that can be used for tea, to be as similar to this study as possible. I'll post more links if I make any more progress on the herb hunt.

 

Luke you want to try Dragon herbs company fron RonTeeguarden,he is a renowned herbalist his products are fantastic quality probably the best in the world ,they may be able to guide you.
.................and USA based
http://www.dragonherbs.com/

 

Luke - Thanks for trying to figure this out. I want to try them as well.

 

Thank you for the lead regarding dragon herbs, carlover! I'd never heard of this company and was impressed with their customer service and website. And glad to see you also shop Dragon Herbs erik. @aka, good luck with your pursuit!

I was ready to give Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang a try until I spoke with one of dragon herb's representatives, who was certain that would not help with MY particular tinnitus symptoms. She explained downward and upward medicine, something I don't know enough about to re-summarize here, and instead suggested I try (1) Bupleurum and Dragon Bone and (2) Perilla Clear. I was impressed with her knowledge of tinnitus and am planning to take her advice. I'm of course a bit skeptical but curious to give these a try and will let you all know how it goes! So based on my experience, I definitely suggest talking with a dragon herbs representative before ordering from this company, whether it be Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang or another herbal concoction.

 

Hi Luke,hey thats great re Dragon herbs,hop this comes across the right way ,dont forget to ask them how long to take the herbs ,you may have to persevere for a few months to get a real answer on if they can help.

 

Well it isn't well known in Korea. I lived there for almost 5 years and nobody who knew I had it mentioned it to me. I will have to ask my wife to source some for me (she is korean).

 

For those who do not know Bojungikgitang is Korean name for Ginseng and Astragalus.

 

I am starting the Korean herbal medicines today. I will post on this site how things go. Prayers and Good Fortune be with one for the better of all. Mick

 

Re the above:
Great thread.....I would be very interested in trying it out.

Also please dont forget the successes of a few people (not all!) with the tibetan medicine being tried out - there is a thread Tibetan Medicine Works for Tinnitus - Test this supplement

It is wih agar 35 and semde and or bimalah....
wonder if it is made up of similar stuff as the above?

Latest person to report improvement certainly with his sleep and relaxation and potentially with his T is @Knightofknots

 

what is kimchi? sorry i have no idea! does it taste nice?

 

Eric are you Korean? Do you know where we can get these herbs? I can't even say them, let alone know where to get them

 

Mmmm kimchi. Mmmm bibimbap.

 

Amandine, I am not trying Tibetan herbs. I have started with the Korean herbs that have very long names. In their clinical trials there were noticeable improvements with the test subjects that used the two herbs with the very long names. I have been using one of the herbs for 3days now, but the time frame is too short to tell if anything positive is happening . I understand there is no cure for this condition unless the Supreme Being decides you have suffered with it long enough . I am just looking for some improvement. Mick

 

@SickoMicko

Thanks for posting Mick....
Please let us know how you get on with these herbs.
Also, where did you manage to get hold of them. And is the company that sells them online and do they ship to europe do you know?
Did you manage to get the concoctions that were in the original posters message?
Yes the names are impossibly long arent they?
By the way, were the concoctions expensive and do they taste alright and do they help with sleep and anti anxiety at all maybe?
Was it explained to you how these herbal remedies work and/or was it explained that maybe alternative herbs are needed for a particular T problem as in @Luke posting?
looking forward to hearing from you
thanks

 

Hey, posting is the link to maintaining some degree of sanity. One day someone will hit on something that actually helps, and that could be me, who knows.
I was given 62 bags of each herb, which in liquid form in pouches, by my neighbor who's wife is Korean. She called her family in LA, they found the herbs and sent them to me as a gift in the hopes that the stuff would help me. Very generous and kind. I've been touched by the number of people who have been trying to help me , without my knowledge. Renews my faith in mankind.
These herbs are the real deal. And since they were given to me, I have no idea of the cost. If you would like to find out where originated from, let me know and I'll see if I can find it out. The stuff is in liquid form, about 8 ounces, green in color, and tastes like puddle water. I could care less how it tastes as long as it at some point I get some relief.
I don't believe they have any effect on sleep or anxiety, at least I haven't noticed.
Hoping and praying some good will come out of this. Stay well, Mick.

 

SickoMicko will you keep us posted on the liquid herbs your taking? thanks!