Hearing loss that comes on little by little as you age, also known as presbycusis, is common.
There are three types of hearing loss: Conductive: which involves the outer or middle ear.
Sensorineural: which involves the inner ear. Mixed: which is a mix of the two.
Aging and being around loud noises both can cause hearing loss.
Causes of Hearing Loss :
Although these factors can be encountered at different periods across the life span, individuals are most susceptible to their effects during critical periods in life.
Prenatal period
Genetic factors, including hereditary and non-hereditary hearing loss.
Intra-uterine infections, such as rubella and cytomegalovirus infection.
Perinatal period
Birth asphyxia (a lack of oxygen at the time of birth).
Hyperbilirubinemia (severe jaundice in the neonatal period).
Collection of fluid in the ear (chronic nonsuppurative otitis media)
Meningitis and other infections.
Adulthood and older age
Chronic diseases
Smoking
Otosclerosis
Age-related sensorineural hearing loss
Sudden sensorineural hearing loss.
Factors across the life span
Cerumen impaction (impacted ear wax)
Trauma to the ear or head
Loud noise/loud sounds exposure
Ototoxic medicines
Risk factors :
Aging:The inner ear breaks down over time.
Loud noise:Being around loud sounds can damage the cells of the inner ear. Damage can happen by being around loud noises over time. Or the damage can come from a short blast of noise, such as from a gunshot. Explosive noises, such as from firearms and jet engines, can cause immediate, motorcycling, carpentry or listening to loud music.
Heredity:Your genes may make you more likely to have ear damage from sound or from aging.
Noises at play:Exposure to explosive noises, such as from firearms and jet engines, can cause immediate, permanent hearing loss. Other activities with dangerously high noise levels include snowmobiling, motorcycling, carpentry or listening to loud music.
Some medicines: These include the antibiotic gentamicin, sildenafil and certain medicines used to treat cancer, which can damage the inner ear. Very high doses of aspirin, other pain relievers, antimalarial drugs or loop diuretics can cause short-term effects on hearing. These include ringing in the ears, also known as tinnitus, or hearing loss.
Some illnesses:Illnesses such as meningitis that cause high fever can harm the cochlea.
What are the symptoms of Hearing Loss?
Muffling of speech and other sounds.
Trouble understanding words, especially when in a crowd or a noisy place.
Trouble hearing the letters of the alphabet that aren’t vowels.
Often asking others to speak more slowly, clearly and loudly.
Needing to turn up the volume of the television or radio.
Being bothered by background noise.
Ringing in the ears (tinnitus).
Social withdrawal or fatigue from concentrating to hear.
How Homeopathy Helps in Hearing Loss :
Homeopathy helps in the causes which are reversible.
Homeopathic medicines act as nerve stimulant to the Auditory Nerve (especially Cochlear Branch that is responsible for hearing) and improves nerve precipitation of sound.
Homeopathic medicines stimulate nerve conduction or improve nerve responsiveness in cases of functional or degenerative weakness of the auditory nerve.
In hearing loss where high frequencies are heard better than low frequencies, the medicine helps balance auditory sensitivity.
Homeopathic medicines often helps when tinnitus (ringing/buzzing) accompanies hearing loss, suggesting it modulates abnormal nerve signals in the auditory pathway.
It helps in decreasing chronic suppurative otitis media and subsequent complications.
Remedies are selected based on individual symptoms.
