Successful Ayurvedic Herbal Treatment of Hearing Loss in Children

Hearing is essential for young children to learn speech, develop learning and social skills, and for playing. In most developed countries, screening for hearing ability is done some time after birth. Otherwise, parents are usually the first to notice hearing defects in young children. Hearing loss is of three types- conductive; sensorineural and mixed.

Hearing loss in children can be congenital or acquired. Ayurvedic treatment can be very effectively utilized in successfully treating hearing loss in children. For hearing loss due to middle ear infections, medicines are given which reduce allergy, inflammation, infection, and fluid buildup. Results with treatment are quite good and hearing is restored to normal in the majority of affected children.

For sensorineural hearing loss in children, Ayurvedic treatment is given to provide nutrition, repair damage to the inner ear, and strengthen the auditory nerve and auditory brain center. This treatment is quite safe for long term administration in children more than 6 months of age. There is usually a hearing benefit of 15-25 percent with 4-6 months of treatment and about 40-60 percent benefit can be obtained with about 10-12 months of Ayurvedic treatment. This improvement can be verified with objective audiometric tests.

It is important to note that all treated individuals – both adults and children – are exposed to the same aggravating or risk factors for hearing loss, which normal people face. It is therefore necessary to avoid or minimize the risk from such aggravating factors to the maximum extent possible.

The writer, Dr. A. A. Mundewadi, is available as an Ayurvedic consultant at https://www.mundewadiayurvedicclinic.com and http://www.ayurvedaphysician.com

Successful Ayurvedic Herbal Treatment of Hearing Loss

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

Ayurvedic Herbal Treatment for Otosclerosis

Otosclerosis is a medical condition of the middle ear in which the bones which conduct sound from the eardrum to the auditory nerve get damaged and progressively harden, after which they are unable to perform their function of conducting sound.  Otosclerosis usually commences in the third decade and occurs more commonly in women.  The bones initially obtain a spongy appearance, after which they start sclerosing.  This condition gradually causes middle ear deafness, known as conductive hearing loss.  Otosclerosis may result from repeated middle ear infections, or may have a hereditary component.

Otosclerosis is a condition for which there is no medical management in the modern system of medicine.  Treatment is usually with the help of hearing aids or surgical correction.  The Ayurvedic management of otosclerosis involves the use of herbal medicines which act on these affected bones and help to remove the sclerosing component of these bones.  These medicines act on the middle ear and help these bones to completely or partly reclaim their normal constitution, so that they can function properly.  Ayurvedic medicines need to be taken for at least 6 to 9 months in order to bring about significant improvement in the functioning of the middle ear so as to reduce the conduction deafness and bring hearing to normal or near normal.

It is important to enquire about hereditary or environmental causes which may contribute to otosclerosis.  It is also important to enquire about the lifestyle and working habits of the affected individual to reduce or avoid any contributory factors which may adversely affect the otosclerosis.  Most affected individuals have a history of repeated infections of the middle ear, prolonged or repeated use of antibiotics, or a history of exposure to excessive noise or music.  While treating the patient with Ayurvedic herbal medicines, care needs to be taken to adopt appropriate lifestyle changes so as to reduce the risk factors for this condition.  This ensures that the affected individual gets the maximum benefit from the medicines.

Ayurvedic herbal treatment thus has a definite role to play in the management and treatment of otosclerosis.

The writer, Dr. A. A. Mundewadi, is available as an online Ayurvedic Consultant at www.ayurvedaphysician.com

Ayurvedic Herbal Treatment for Hearing Loss

Hearing loss which requires treatment can be of three types: Sensorineural hearing loss, conductive hearing loss, and a mixed type which involves hearing loss with both the previously mentioned types. It is best to conduct a thorough medical examination as well as an audiometry test to correctly diagnose the cause and type of hearing loss.

Ayurvedic medicines are effective in all types of hearing loss. The aim of treatment in sensorineural hearing loss is to help regenerate the auditory nerve, the parts of the inner ear connected to the auditory nerve, as well as to strengthen the hearing centre in the brain. Depending upon the severity of nerve damage, treatment from 3-6 months is usually required to help restore hearing to normal or near-normal levels. Other concurrent medical conditions like diabetes and hypertension may also have an impact upon the duration of treatment and the improvement observed with Ayurvedic medicines. In addition, elderly people with other nervous system involvement , for example, diseases like Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease, may also need to be treated concurrently for these diseases, before they can get benefit for hearing loss.

Conductive hearing loss is usually related to damage in the middle ear, due to various reasons like recurrent infections, trauma, or congenital defects. The aim of treatment in this type of hearing loss is to repair the damage in the middle ear - usually related to the small bones which connect the ear drum to the auditory nerve. Ossification of these bones is the usual end-result, whic causes hearing loss.Treatment is aimed at healing these damaged bones to the extent possible, and removing or treating any known cause for the condition. Ayurvedic medicines are unique in the sense that they have the capacity to reduce the ossification and gluing together of the bones in the middle ear, and allow the natural hearing process to resume.

Mixed type of hearing loss has to be treated depending upon the severity of each component present in the affected individual. In addition, most affected people also have tinnitus or buzzing sound in the ear. Most of the times, it is related to nerve damage or a disturbance in the semi-circular canals of the ear. This too needs to be treated, since it may severely incapacitate the affected individual. Treatment is usually aimed at reducing the pressure in these canals, and reducing the stickiness of fluid present inside.

The writer, Dr. A. A. Mundewadi, is available as an online Ayurvedic Consultant at https://www.mundewadiayurvedicclinic.com and http://www.ayurvedaphysician.com