EAR- Tinnitus – Roar in ear
A noisy world creates disturbances and is found to be ruining the hearing process
of the ear. Even though the world is aware of noise pollution, no one takes
care of the ear unlike taking care of eyes with dark glasses. Ear is the
messenger of words to the brain. Clarity in hearing is very essential to avoid
confusion. Unnecessary noises may lead to misunderstanding and may lead to
trouble. Such noises in the ear usually distract people and often lead to
hardness of hearing. Noises in the ear are medically termed as ‘tinnitus
aurium’. Tinnitus often threatens to become deafness. Many people find tinnitus
a nuisance but often ignore and wait for it to go away on its own. This often
leads to making people hard of hearing. So it is crucial to learn/follow
preventive measures to take care of the ear.
About ear – The ear is a miniature gramophone of our body. It
helps in hearing even the minute sound that may be whispered. The ear makes us
learn, communicate, love music, admire beauty of nature acoustically, etc. It
warns us about a strange situation when there is a strange sound. Sound
perception is as important as vision perception. For example – theatre sound
system needs to be good to provide good impact of the film.
The ear is one of the most sensitive and delicate organs of our body. It is
a complex tiny organ with tiny bones and labyrinth. The ear consists of
external (outer) ear, middle ear and inner ear. The external ear is nothing but
a trumpet/flap of tissue which marks the entry route for sound. It simply
collects and projects the sound inside. The middle ear consists of tympanic
membrane (ear drum), tympanic cavity and tiny bones which conduct vibration to
the inner ear. The inner ear (labyrinth) consists of vestibule, semicircular
canals and cochlea. The vestibular apparatus gives balance to our body with
respect to head positions and movement. Cochlea is a snail-shaped, lymph-filled
organ that responds to the vibrations of sound and converts vibrations into
impulses. These impulses are carried to the brain by the vestibulo cochlear
(acoustic) nerve. Sound perception is attained by two ways i.e. air conduction
and bone conduction (through vibration).
About hearing – Normal conversation scales about 50-60 decibels
and it can be heard for 20–30 feet. The ear can tolerate up to 95 decibels. Any
more should be considered as noise pollution as it may lead to hearing loss.
Crackers, fire weapons, factory machinery, etc., often cross 110 decibels.
Short time exposure won’t cause any serious hearing loss or tinnitus whereas
sustained hearing of sounds that are more than 115 decibels often induces
temporary hearing loss and tinnitus. Loss of hearing and tinnitus may be
temporary or permanent depending upon the intensity of the noise pollution. It
can affect one ear or both ears. In case of elderly people, nervous weakness
caused by diabetes, hypertension or natural ageing process may induce tinnitus
and hearing loss. Hearing loss can be easily noticed with requirement of high
volume speech and confusion caused by noises.
Incidences
Tinnitus is common in the aged. Its incidence is higher after the age of 40
irrespective of sex. Anyway, women have higher incidences around menopause.
Youths may also suffer from it when they are exposed continuously to loud
noises. Almost everyone would have experienced tinnitus at one time or the
other in one ear or both ears, for a few seconds to minutes, i.e. while diving,
jumping, traveling by flight, head injury, blowing nose hard, in hill stations,
etc. Mostly these will return to normalcy soon.
Symptoms
Usually tinnitus is referred for ear noises like buzzing,
hissing, blowing, ringing,
whistling, roaring, pulsating, etc. This often refers to a sound like the
roar of the tides in the seashore or shell acoustic sound. Occasionally,
according to the intensity of the suffering, nausea, vomiting, vertigo,
headache, restlessness, irritability, loss of concentration, etc., may
accompany tinnitus. Since tinnitus itself is a symptom, its presence sometimes
represents a symptom of inner diseases. It may also sometimes seem to be a
hallucination of the sufferer.
Types
Tinnitus is classified medically as objective & subjective tinnitus.
Objective tinnitus can be heard by the doctor also while doing auscultation,
whereas subjective tinnitus cannot be heard by others and can only be heard by
the sufferers/patients. Nowadays, objective tinnitus is managed well with
surgery by treating the causes. But, most of the time, tinnitus seems to be
subjective.
Causes
No known cause will be the end
result, in most of searches in tinnitus cases. Anyway, the possible related
causes are
·
Maltreated middle ear infection
·
Neglected hole in the ear drum
·
Negligence in caring for the ear by letting water enter
it
·
Increased wax and impaction
·
Obstruction with foreign substances
·
Eustachian tube infection which arises from throat
complaints
·
Age-related hearing loss due to nervous weakness
·
Meniere’s disease – inner ear disease with vertigo,
tinnitus, nausea and hearing loss
·
Prolonged use of drugs like Aspirin, pain-killers and
antibiotics
·
Continuous exposure to loud sounds like rock music,
machinery sounds in factories, crackers, firing weapons, etc.
·
Systemic illnesses like hypertension, diabetes and
anaemia
·
Tension and anxiety
·
Hardening and sclerosis of bones and ligaments of the
middle ear
·
Tumours
·
Increased vascularity in blood vessels due to deformity
or malformation
Head Injury causing damage to brain/ear
Diagnosis
A series of diagnostic tests with physical examination reveals nothing. A
detailed history and enquiry about feeling and nature of sound gives some idea
about the disease, i.e., in case of vascular origin, it will be pulsating or
rhythmic. Routine tests are Audiometry, X-rays and angiography. CT scan/MRI may
help to rule out any tumour or deformities.
Complication
Tinnitus often complicates hearing
and can cause deafness. Many a time, tinnitus also points to inner diseases
like hypertension, anaemia, vascular tumour/aneurysm where care is very
essential. If it is left uncared-for, there may be a lot of complications.
Continuous exposure to noise will also lead to hearing loss.
Management
Pin drop silence often reveals even the ticking of the clock. Likewise, a
silent situation often seems to amplify tinnitus. So, people often use radio or
watch TV to get sleep without noise/tinnitus. Tinnitus can be managed
temporarily with any sound masker. Treatment should be started soon or
otherwise hearing loss will be rewarded in a slow manner. For self management,
Avoid
·
Taking coffee, tea and alcohol
·
Tobacco chewing and smoking
·
Continuous exposure to loud noises
·
Tension and anxiety since it usually increases the volume
of the tinnitus
Prevention – To hear properly,
Do’s
·
Use ear plug, if you happen to be in a loud sound area
·
Learn to listen to music in a pleasant volume, especially
when using headphones
·
Maintain BP with low salt, brisk walking and better sleep
without tension
Don’t
·
Clean ears with hairpins, matchsticks, keys, etc.
·
Pour oil or water into the ear on your own
·
Bathe without cotton plugs in the ear to avoid water
getting into it (in case of ear complaints)
·
Use unnecessary medications unless otherwise prescribed
for specific time
General treatment
Since finding out the cause is
difficult, treatment also seems to be difficult in most of the cases. Unless
doctor finds a cause, patients are helpless. The latest advanced surgery often
treats the cause and improves hearing. But, sometimes, tinnitus may happen to
persist, making doctors helpless. So, most of the time, the patient gets
prescribed with multi-vitamins and maskers (hearing aids). Maskers usually
amplify the surrounding sound for winning over (masking) the noises. Due to
hesitation in using hearing aid, most people train themselves to live with
tinnitus. Some doctors use vasodilators and sedatives for tinnitus. Treatment
results usually vary.
Homeopathic approach
Suffering silently for a long time may lead to permanent silence in the
ear (deafness). Silence is very powerful as it even kills with depression, emotional
problems, etc. Here comes the spectacular opportunity for Homeopathy to show
its efficacy where other systems fail to cure the patients. Homeopathic
treatment will have dramatic cure in cases of tinnitus, if it is cared for from
the initial days i.e. before loss of hearing arises. Most times, tinnitus is
felt as a subjective feeling. Sometimes, patients are even blamed for
complaining about tinnitus with hallucination.
Homeopathy usually gives importance to subjective feelings / symptoms of
the patients, which are characteristic to that individual. Homeopathy medicines
are often prescribed individually, i.e., for the exact feeling they experience,
i.e. buzzing, hissing, humming, roaring, whistling, gushing, ringing, drumming,
reverberating, echoing, pulsating, steaming, clicking and even for the sound of
air escaping through the ear or water flowing in the ear, etc. Even the sound
of silence can be very well heard with out any noises, after taking proper
homeopathic treatment.
Homeopathic medicines commonly used in cases of tinnitus are Acid Mur, Acid
Nit, Acid Salicy, Ammon Carb, Aurum Mur, Baryta Carb, Bryonia, Calc Carb,
Cannabis Indica, Causticum, Chamomilla, Chinchona, Chin Sulp, Conium,
Graphites, Hepa Sulp, Ferrrum Picricum, Kali Bich, Kali Iod, Kali Mur, Kali
Sulp, Nat Salicy, Petroleum, Pulsatilla, Sulphur, Tellurium, Viola Odorata,
Viscum alb, etc. These Medicines should be taken under the advice and diagnosis
of a qualified Homeopath.
for
new hope
Dr. S. Chidambaranathan, BHMS, MD (Homeo)
Laxmi Homeo Clinic
24 E. New Mahalipatti Road
Madurai, TN 625 001
India
Tel: +91-984-319-1011 (Mob /
Whatsapp)
Clinic : +91-452-233-8833 |
E-mail: drcheena@gmail.com
(Disclaimer: The
contents of this column are for informational purpose only. The content is not
intended to be a substitute for professional healthcare advice, diagnosis, or
treatment. Always seek the advice of healthcare professional for any health
problem or medical condition.)