Joan Liebmann-Smith, Ph. D., and Jacqueline Nardi Egan
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 Gradual hearing loss may also be sounding an alarm that you've been working or playing in very noisy places. In fact, frequenting loud restaurants or working in a typical factory—both of which have decibel levels around 85—is enough to ruin your hearing over time. By comparison, the decibel level of a jet engine hovers at 140 and a rock concert can reach 150.
In addition, slowly progressing hearing loss may be a wake-up call that any number of medical conditions may be brewing, including hypothyroidism, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, and kidney disease. |
Mark Sircus
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 Magnesium treatment has been repeatedly shown to reduce the incidence of both temporary and permanent noise-induced hearing loss40 and supplementation is now being found to significantly improve acute onset hearing loss.4'
Dr. Mildred Seelig postulated that magnesium deficiency early in life gives rise to chronic abnormalities that persist throughout life, increasing morbidity and mortality and shortening life (Seelig,
1977; 1977/1982; 1978; 1980). |
| Both human noise-induced hearing loss studies introduced a novel, biological, natural agent for prevention and possible treatment of noise-induced cochlear damage in humans Reduction in noise-induced temporary threshold shift in humans following oral magnesium intake. Clin Otolaryngol Allied Sci. 2004 Dec;29(6):635-41 Entrez Pubmed
41 In a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 28 patients with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss were treated with either steroids and oral magnesium (study group) or steroids and a placebo (control group). |
Heather Boon, BScPhm, PhD and Michael Smith, BPharm, MRPharmS, ND
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 U9
Sudden Hearing Loss
Two studies have investigated the effects of ginkgo in patients with sudden hearing loss. One randomized, double-blind trial compared two doses (120 mg vs 12 mg twice daily over 8 weeks) of ginkgo extract EGb 761 in outpatients (n=106) with acute idiopathic sudden hearing loss of at least 15 dB at one frequency within speech range occurring less than
10 days prior to inclusion in the study.150 A majority of both treatment groups recovered completely. The authors conclude that a "higher dose of Egb 761 (oral) appears to speed up and secure the recovery. |
Bottom Line Health
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| YOUR CHECKUP
Your otolaryngologist will take a full history of your symptoms and any factors that might put you at risk for hearing loss. An audiogram will be obtained to test how well you hear sounds over a wide range of frequencies.
The audiogram gives the single best picture of how well your auditory nerve and the rest of your sound-conducting system are functioning. |
Brigitte Mars, A.H.G.
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 Ginkgo leaf is used in the treatment of allergies, altitude sickness, Alzheimer's disease, angina, anxiety, arteriosclerosis, asthma, bronchitis, cataracts, claudication (intermittent), cough, dementia, depression, dizziness, dysentery, eczema, erectile dysfunction, fatigue, hearing loss, hemorrhoids, high cholesterol, leg cramps, leukorrhea, macular degeneration, memory loss, nerve-related deafness, optic neuropathy, pain in the extremities, poor circulation, Raynaud's disease, senility, shortness of breath, tinnitus, tuberculosis, varicose veins, vertigo, and vision loss. |
| Wood betony is used in the treatment of alcoholism, allergies, anxiety, asthma, catarrh, colic, diarrhea, dyspepsia, drunkenness, edema, exhaustion, fear, flatulence, gout, headache, head cold, hearing loss, heartburn, hyperactivity, hypertension, hysteria, indigestion, insomnia, kidney dysfunction, migraine, neuralgia, nightmares, rheumatism, sore throat, stress, varicose veins, vertigo, worms, and worry.
Topically, wood betony can be applied to wounds to stop bleeding and prevent scarring. It also can be used as a poultice to draw out splinters and boils and to treat varicose veins. |
Joan Liebmann-Smith, Ph. D., and Jacqueline Nardi Egan
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| Indeed, this ear condition—which can begin in the teens—is the leading cause of hearing loss in young adults.
Young white middle-class i_ • i • i r women are at highest risk tor otosclerosis, and hormonal changes during pregnancy may worsen the condition. While otosclerosis usually occurs in both ears, sometimes it affects
SIGNIFICANT FACTS
Men are forever being accused of not listening to the women in their lives. Now there's scientific basis for this charge. According to a government survey, men do indeed have poorer hearing than women. |
Steven V. Joyal
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 A 5-year prospective study of diabetes and hearing loss in a veteran population. OtolNeurotol2006 Jan; 27(l):37-43.
Vlassara H et al. Inflammatory mediators are induced by dietary glycotoxins, a major risk factor for diabetic angiopathy. Proc Natl AcadSci USA 2002 Nov 26; 99(24):15596-601.
Wiernsperger NR Oxidative stress as a therapeutic target in diabetes: Revisiting the controversy. Diabetes Metab 2003; 29:579-85.
Zhang J et al. Hostility and urine norepinephrine interact to predict insulin resistance: The VA Normative Aging Study. Psychosom Med2006; 68:718-26. |
Joan Liebmann-Smith, Ph. D., and Jacqueline Nardi Egan
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| In fact, in elderly people tinnitus and hearing loss often occur together.
.fl^Tfc In the 19th century, physiog-sfl^Vk' nomists believed that ear size and shape could predict criminal behavior. Cesare Lombroso (1835-1909), the leading Italian criminologist of his day, wrote that "ears of unusual size, or occasionally very small, or standing out from the head as do those of the chimpanzee" were signs of a born criminal.
STOP SIGN
Tricking your brain to get its mind off the ringing sound sometimes helps mask tinnitus. |
Bottom Line Health
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| The good news: Cochlear implants and recent advances in hearing aids now make it possible for people who have severe or profound hearing loss to significantly improve their ability to hear conversation and other sounds.
Basics: Sound is picked up by the ear and transmitted to the brain through a complex pathway. Sound vibrations are collected by the outer ear, pass through the ear canal and cause the eardrum to vibrate. This, in turn, causes the vibration of three small middle ear bones. |
Joan Liebmann-Smith, Ph. D., and Jacqueline Nardi Egan
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| Chronic middle ear infections can cause hearing loss, ear polyps, cholesteatomas (skin-like cysts in the middle ear), and mastoiditis (a serious infection of the bony structure behind the ear). If untreated, both cholesteatomas and mastoiditis may lead to meningitis and even death.
EAR SIGNS ONLY WE SENSE
ITCHY EARS
Having an itch where you can't scratch—like in your ear—can drive you crazy. Not surprisingly, itchy ears are another sign of allergies or skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis. |
Bottom Line Health
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| Meningitis can result in long-term permanent disabilities such as hearing loss and brain damage. The most serious type of meningitis is caused by the meningococcus bacteria, for which the vaccine was developed. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 3,000 cases of meningococcal disease occur in the United States every year. The overall fatality rate is approximately 10%, but it is sometimes higher in young people.
The most dangerous result from the meningococcal bacteria is sepsis, or blood infection, Offit says. |
Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S.
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 There appear to be many causes of hearing loss, and probably this natural prescription won't "cure" all of them. But it might make a significant difference in some cases, and if you happen to be one of them, you'll be happy you tried it.
Black Cohosh and Dong Quai for Hot Flashes
OF ALL THE SYMPTOMS that accompany menopause, hot flashes would probably be at the top of the list of most bothersome. Between 50 percent and 85 percent of U.S. women going through menopause experience hot flashes, and 40 percent of those women suffer from them severely enough to seek medical attention. |
| Vitamin B12 deficiency is also associated with deafness; supplements have been useful in treating tinnitus and noise-related hearing loss.
To get enough B12 you have to do more than eat it—you have to absorb it. And therein lies the rub. Anyone over 40, especially the elderly, are at risk of B12 deficiency because they lack enough of a protein that is secreted in the stomach called intrinsic factor, which you need to absorb B12.
So even if you're getting plenty of the vitamin in your diet—which, believe me, most people aren't—it won't do you much good if you lack this important protein. |
| Which makes sense because loud noises produce damaging molecules called free radicals in the ear, and antioxidants help fight the damage from free radicals, NAC (as well as other antioxidants) could conceivably be useful in preventing, minimizing, or slowing hearing loss. One free radical in particular—an especially nasty fellow named superoxide anion radical— appears in the inner ear of experimental animals after damage caused by noise-induced trauma. (The antioxidant superoxide dismutase goes after this one. You can help your body make it by taking some key nutrients like zinc and manganese. |
| A recent study from the Netherlands published in the Annals of Internal Medicine reported that both homocysteine and folic acid play a role in age-related hearing loss. The Netherlands was chosen as a good test location because foods there are not currently fortified with folic acid. The participants of the study were fifty to seventy years old and had moderately high levels of homocysteine to begin with. The researchers gave them either 800 meg of folic acid per day or a placebo. |
| What you may not have heard is that folic acid can also help with hearing loss.
First let's get the pregnancy issue out of the way. If you're pregnant, folic acid supplements can significantly reduce the baby's chance of having one of a particularly nasty form of birth defects called neural tube defects. Neural tube defects are deformities and abnormalities of the baby's brain and spine, such as spinal bifida (an incompletely formed spinal cord) and anencephaly (born without part of the brain). The American Academy of Pediatrics and the U.S. |
Andreas Moritz
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 If wrongly treated (through pharmaceutical drugs) tumor formation, meningitis and other brain disorders, and even hearing loss may result. If you experience any liquid coming from your ears or discover a swelling near the ears, you need to start some cleansing procedures immediately. (See chapters 6 and 7.) Note: For short-term relief, the ancient technique of ear coning or ear candling can help drain old wax, fungus and toxic residues from the ears and open the lymph ducts for improved drainage. Placing several drops of urine into the ears also helps to clear up some of the congestion. |
Joan Liebmann-Smith, Ph. D., and Jacqueline Nardi Egan
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| See Gradual hearing loss, below.)
RINGING IN YOUR EARS
SIGN OF THE TIMES
Do you hear music and there's no one there? If so, you may be experiencing a sign of tinnitus, a condition in which you "hear" ringing or other sounds that aren't really there. Indeed, the word tinnitus comes from the Latin meaning "to tinkle or to ring like a bell." Some tinnitus sufferers hear pulsating sounds, whooshing, roaring, and even crickets chirping. Some hear these sounds in one ear, others in both. These sounds can range from
• 1 11 • 11* mildly annoying to maddening. |
Marshall Editions
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 It is often caused by exposure to extreme noise, but it can also be triggered by a variety of conditions affecting the ear, including diseases of the inner ear such as age-related hearing loss, or Meniere's disease; an obstruction in the ear canal, such as those caused by a large amount of earwax; a perforated eardrum; and inflammation of the middle ear. Rarely, it can be caused by a benign tumor on the acoustic nerve. Underlying health conditions that can be linked with tinnitus include allergies, heart disease, high blood pressure, and anemia. |
David Winston, RH(AHG), and Steven Maimes
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 There has been significant research on the use of the standardized product for people with poor cerebral circulation, degenerative effects of Alzheimer's disease and senile dementia, poor memory, hearing loss, tinnitus, erectile dysfunction, atherosclerosis, varicose veins, and peripheral neuropathies.
As mentioned in the Bacopa monograph, I use ginkgo for people recovering from head trauma injuries, and I frequently use it in formulas to slow or prevent glaucoma, cataracts, and diabetic retinopathy (used with blueberry, chrysanthemum flowers, and lycium). |
Thomson Healthcare, Inc.
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 Sudden hearing loss associated with ephedra use. Am J Health Syst Pharm. Feb 15;60(4):375-377. 2003.
Shin N-H, Lee KS, Kang S-H et al. Inhibitory effects of herbal extracts on dopa oxidase activity of tyrosinase. Nat Prod Sci; 3:111-121..1997.
Shucard DW, Spector SL, Euwer RL et al. Central nervous system effects of antiasthma medication - an EEG study. Ann Allergy; 54:177-184. 1985.
Sill V, Voelkel N, Lanser K et al. Bronchospasmolysis with atrovent. Munch Med Wochenschr; 118:177-180. 1976.
Smookler S & Bermudez AJ. |
Mehmet C. Oz., M.D. and Michael F. Roizen, M.D.
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 Here's the thing about hearing loss: How do you know you can't hear something if you don't know what you're missing? So if your partner tells you that your ears seem clogged, resist the temptation to fight back with, "Yeah, and so are your pores." It may feel like nagging at the time, but your partner's frustration with repeating repeatedly is very often the first sign that you should have a medical checkup.
YOU Tip: Get the Wax Out. You probably grew up thinking cotton swabs were the ultimate wax removers. |
| Men, who are often affected by hearing loss more than women, since they typically have more workplace exposure to loud noises, may find they can hear low-frequency pulsations but not high pitches and consonants (they have trouble distinguishing between B and P, or T and D). It's not that they don't want to take out the trash or do the dishes (although this is likely the case in some homes); it's that while they can hear the deep male voices shouting out the scores on SportsCenter, they truly can't hear the higher pitches and softer tones of the women they live with. |
| A common cause of hearing loss is fraying of the hairs within the cochlea due to occupational exposure to loud noises that crash into these delicate structures.
Testing, Testing
In a hearing test, you can expect doctors to use all kinds of diagnostic measures. Some may seem funny, like a tuning fork. They'll test your ability to hear tones versus words and high frequencies versus low frequencies. And they'll also try to get a sense of how your hearing problem developed-what impairment you noticed first and if it was in both ears or just one. |
| While hearing loss isn't one of those things that's going to kill you or have you escorted into the back of the ambulance (unless it was a horn you didn't hear), it is one of biggest things that can influence your quality of life and ultimately your health. When you can't hear as well, you limit your social interaction so you don't have to go through the awkwardness of being three conversations behind or missing the punch lines to jokes or constantly asking the barista to repeat herself. The depletion of social networks can cause a tangible decrease in your length and quality of life. |
Bottom Line Health
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| Schedule an appointment with an otolaryngologist if you...
•Notice that it's harder to hear when you are on the telephone.
•Have trouble hearing conversation if there's background noise.
•Often ask people to repeat themselves.
•Hear a persistent ringing, humming or buzzing sound in your ears (a condition known as tinnitus).
•Notice changes in balance associated with a change in your hearing—balance and hearing are both functions of the ear.
YOUR CHECKUP
Your otolaryngologist will take a full history of your symptoms and any factors that might put you at risk for hearing loss. |
Mehmet C. Oz., M.D. and Michael F. Roizen, M.D.
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| If not: You're showing signs of early hearing loss and should be especially aware of taking steps to prevent further damage.
If so: Celebrate and proceed to the bedroom immediately. With canola oil.
This test is easier if a man is the tester, due to the voice tones of most men-see page 297.
Nervt I
We
> all know (and probably live with) people who have recently added some more words to their verbal repertoire. Namely: "Huh?" "Pardon?"
Or, for De Niro fans, "You talking to me? |
Dr. Steve Blake
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 Increased bleeding tendencies.
(d) hearing loss.
18. The food source highest in vitamin E is:
(a) Sunflower seeds.
(b) Fruit.
(c) Vegetables.
(d) French fries.
19. Which form of vitamin E is NOT synthetic?
(a) RRR-alpha-tocopherol.
(b) SRR-alpha-tocopherol.
(c) The acetate ester form.
(d) The succinate ester form.
20. Phylloquinone, vitamin Kp is synthesized by:
(a) Bacteria.
(b) The liver.
(c) Plants.
(d) The kidneys.
21. The form of vitamin K synthesized by bacteria is:
(a) Menaquinone.
(b) Menadione.
(c) Menatetrenone.
(d) Phylloquinone.
22. |
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