Hearing loss is usually of three types: sensorineural, which results from a dysfunction of the auditory nerve leading up to the hearing centre in the brain; conductive, which results from a dysfunction of the middle ear; and a mixed type, which includes both sensorineural and conductive hearing loss. This medical condition may be related to various causes such as infections, trauma, medications, misuse or occupational overexposure to loud sounds. The modern system of medicine cannot provide any effective medication for such types of hearing loss, and the only options are surgical correction and the provision of hearing aids.
Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) can usually be treated completely with the help of Ayurvedic herbal medicines. Treatment is usually given for about six months, depending upon the severity and presentation of each individual case. Associated symptoms like diabetes, blood pressure, buzzing sound in the ear, and discharge from the ear can complicate the symptoms and may require additional medications. Individuals affected with this condition, and who do not have discharge from the ear are also advised to use local ear drops. Most patients report improvement in hearing with the first two months of treatment, and report an overall improvement in hearing of nearly 80 to 90% on completion of treatment.
Conductive hearing loss is usually related to an ossification of the tiny bones which connect the eardrum to the auditory nerve and thereby conduct sound impulses from outside to the inner ear. The response to Ayurvedic treatment for conductive hearing loss is mixed; about 50% of patients improve very well with the first two months of treatment, while the remaining 50% report no change in this condition. Based on past experience, further wastage of financial resources and time is prevented in the second group of patients by advising them to go in for surgical correction of the condition. Those patients who respond well in the first two months are continued with the treatment, and most of them are able to carry on with their normal lives after taking a full course of six months of treatment.
Individuals with mixed hearing loss are treated on a case-to-case basis, depending upon the individual presentation and severity of symptoms. However, most of these patients do require treatment since there is a sensorineural component to the hearing loss, and the majority of patients report an improvement in hearing of about 40 to 70%. Ayurvedic treatment thus has a definite role in the management of all the different types of hearing loss.
The writer, Dr. A. A. Mundewadi, is available as an online Ayurvedic Consultant at https://www.mundewadiayurvedicclinic.com and http://www.ayurvedaphysician.com
