One of the huge benefits of investigating and treating the body as an holistic being is that you realize just how integral every single part of you is to your overall health. One seemingly unrelated organ can be influencing an issue you are experiencing in another part of your body.
This is the surprising case with the kidneys and hearing issues.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the kidneys represent the ocean of the human body. Their principal role is to store and release essence called ‘Jing.’ The kidneys are also considered to be the root of Yin and Yang energies for all the other organs in the body. They control body water metabolism.
From an emotional point of view, will, determination, and the power of memory are attributed to the kidneys. When your kidney jing becomes depleted or exhausted, you will feel weak willed and the symptoms of poor memory.
If you experience intense or prolonged fear, that emotional energy will cause injury to your kidney energy, and similarly, a physical kidney issue or disfunction can cause fearful and panicky behavior.
Your kidney governs your body’s bones and marrow, ears and sense of hearing, as well as the hair on your head. The kidneys open into the ears and lower orifices, so it makes sense that anyone with ear issues, tinnitus, or hearing problems, as well as urinary tract issues, might have a weakness in the kidneys.
Physiologically your kidneys do the following:
- Regulate the amount of fluid in your body.
- Help to control blood pressure.
- Balance the composition of your blood.
- Balance the electrolytes in your blood.
- Perform the complex process of urine formation, involving filtration of waste and toxins from the blood, retaining essential molecules and balancing key hormones in the blood.
Many people accumulate some form of toxic build up and loss of kidney function as time passes, but the good news is there are things you can do to keep your kidneys really functioning well.
If you experience tinnitus or some form of ear dysfunction, consider the following advice for great kidney health:
1. Drink enough fluids (water) so that your urine is a light yellow color. It’s best to space your water intake out throughout the day as this causes less stress for your kidneys than drinking a large amount at once.
2. Consume a lot of raw fruits and vegetables, which promotes an internal alkalinity in your body.
3. Add herbal teas to your diet, especially Chanca Piedra. This tea helps to kill infections, stimulates renal tissue, and even breaks down kidney stones.
4. Include lots of foods that are dark or black in color. Things like black grapes, black beans, black sesame seeds, and walnuts.
5. Add He Shou Wu to your diet. This is a herb with the ability to tonify the kidneys and the blood, calm down the nervous system, and maintain strength of your lower back. It’s also a wonderful source of iron, can prevent premature greying hair, and has an enormous accumulation of Qi into its root.
