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A new study shows acupuncture may play a role in reducing ringing in the ears, by helping to balance the body.

Nine months ago, Bob Grote started acupuncture therapy, after he suddenly lost hearing in one ear.

“I went to bed and woke up and was totally deaf in my left ear,” he said.

Brett Cain, a licensed acupuncturist and registered nurse, performed Grote's acupuncture treatments, a therapy where tiny needles are placed into specific pressure points on the body:

 “There are energy pathways in the body, and we access the pathways in the body through acupuncture points, and the acupuncture points are like reset buttons,” she said.

After just two treatments, Grote said tests showed a dramatic increase in my hearing ability to the left ear.

But now, there's new evidence that the treatment, may also play a role in reducing ringing in the ears.

A laboratory study in the European Journal of Neuroscience shows that ringing in the ears or tinnitus--which Grote said he experienced right before his hearing loss--can be caused by overactive touch-sensing nerve cells. These cells appear to step up their activity in the brain after hearing cells are damaged.

Researchers in this study found acupuncture can calm these nerve cells to help reduce ringing in the ears by helping the body to heal itself.

While more scientific studies are needed to confirm these results, Bob Grote said the quality of his life turned around after that second treatment.

Ask him to tell you more and you’re likely to get a real ear full.