Hearing loss and hearing impairment are conditions which can
severely affect quality of life, confidence, academic performance as well as
earning potential, in addition to increasing the risk to life and limb. Hearing
loss can be present at birth, or present later on in life. It can be bilateral
or unilateral; it can also happen suddenly or present gradually. Medically,
hearing loss can be classified into three types: (1) Sensorineural (2)
Conductive and (3) Mixed. Causes include
wax, eardrum perforation, chronic infection, trauma, exposure to loud sounds, diseases
of the inner ear or middle ear, tumors, congenital defects, drugs and old age.
The treatment of hearing loss depends upon the known causes
for the condition. Conservative management includes avoiding causes where
possible, treating allergies and chronic infection, and providing nutrients
which may help improve hearing. Such treatments help overcome mild to moderate
hearing loss; however, severe hearing loss - both of the sensorineural and
conductive types - requires more aggressive management in the form of using hearing
aids and surgical implants.
Specific Ayurvedic treatment can be provided depending upon whether
the hearing loss is of the sensorineural type or the conductive type. For
conductive hearing loss, medicines which act on the bone tissue are used in
addition to herbs which have a specific action on the ear and aid in hearing.
For sensorineural hearing loss, herbal medicines are used which act
specifically on the inner ear and strengthen the auditory nerve. Additionally,
if there is a known cause for the hearing loss, it also helps to treat this
cause separately. For mixed type of hearing loss, a combination treatment is invariably
required.
The average treatment time for hearing loss is about six to
eight months. With the availability of newer and better herbal and herbomineral
combination medicines, improvement is possible in sensorineural hearing loss of
about 70-90%, while the improvement for conductive hearing loss is in the range
of 60-80%. Refractory patients may require longer periods of treatment. It also
helps to adopt a healthy lifestyle, take adequate rest and nutrition, and avoid
stress and exposure to loud sounds.
Ayurvedic herbal treatment thus has a unique role to play in
the successful management and treatment of hearing loss.
The writer, Dr A A Mundewadi, is available as an
Ayurvedic Consultant at https://www.mundewadiayurvedicclinic.com and http://www.ayurvedaphysician.com
