Ear Disease – Types and Cures
Ear disease can cause great
discomfort, pain in the ear and itsseverely may cause hearing loss. Ear diseases
are of various types and if not treated in time can lead to severe pain and/or
complete loss of hearing. This in turn can hamperyour working capabilities,skills and pose problems in your daily activities.
Complication such as deafness, meningitis, brain disorders and facial nerve
paralysis can also occur. Treating ear discomfort on time is a must.
The ear is comprised of three vital
parts: outer, middle and inner. All of them are used for hearing. The sound
waves are received by the outer ear and then reaches the middle ear where the
eardrums vibrate and these vibrations are transmitted by three small bones
called the ossicles that are present in the middle ear. Then these vibration go
to the snail shaped inner ear and are sent to the brain by the inner ear. Its
the brain that recognizes and understands the sounds.
Numerous conditions can affect the ear. Ear
infections is the most common ear ailment in small children and infants.
Tinnitus is the condition where you get a roaring vibration in the ear, it can
be caused by sudden loud noise, medicinal side effects or some other disease.
Menieres disease is also a type of ear disease that iscaused by fluid deposit in the inner ear.
Ear Infection
A painfulear infection is known as
acute otitis media which affects the middle ear and is mostly caused by a bacterial
or viral infection or protracted cold and cough. Children and infants are highly
susceptible to ear infection then adults. Frequent ear infections can be very
painful due to the inflammation inside the ear and the fluid build-up.
If the child is small and cannot
speak , then these are the signs to look out for an ear infection-
- Tugging the ear constantly
- Fever
- Constant crying and being irritated at all times
- Fluid discharge from the ear
- Troubled Sleep
- Lack of appetite
- Hearing problem
Ear infections usually go on
their own but in infants and children treatment is needed for managing the pain
and controlling the infection. Ear infections in infants often require
antibiotics. But when the ear infection persists for a long time whether in
children or in adults it needs to be treated as persistent and frequent ear
infection that can cause hearing problems and other serious complications.
Ear Pain
Pain in the ear can occur due to
numerous causes.
Severe middle ear infection, known
as otitis media, is most commonly found
in children but can affect adults too. Since children have a smaller auditory
tube than adults it is easier for the tube to become clogged during a prolonged
cold or cough and thus develop ear ache more easily. The anatomy of the childs
auditory tube can put him at a higher
risk for developing ear pains.
Ruptured ear drum is a common
cause of ear pain. The ear drum parts the middle ear from the outer ear. A
ruptured ear drum can occur either by an auditory injury, due to long term
exposure to very loud noise; an injury, like a damage from a cotton swab or other object
being inserted in the ear; or sometimes while scuba diving or flying.
Swimmer’s ear is another cause of
ear pain. This is an infection of the
outer ear, and is quite painful. The symptoms of this condition are pain, redness, itchiness and scaly flaking
skin.
One more cause of ear pain is Perichondritis.
This is typically caused due to some trauma to the outer ear from an
accident or from ear piercing. Perichondritis can also be caused by ear surgery.
Hearing Disorder and Deafness
Hearing disorder or deafness is a
very serious condition as it hampers your hearing capability and thus your day
to day life. Hearing disorders make hearing difficult and deafness can completely affect your hearing capability.
Causes of Hearing Disorder-
- Loud noises – a common cause of hearing loss is damage to
the ear due to repeated exposure to loud noiseover time. - Age – Age
is one of the biggest cause of hearing
loss. As a person gets older, hearing capacity depletes and this is known as age-related
hearing loss or presbycusis. - Genetic hearing loss some people may be born
deaf or become deaf over time due to a genetic abnormality. - Viral Infection – Severe infection of inner ear in diseases
like mumps or measles can cause hearing
loss. - Other Ailments Conditions like a severe
stroke, encephalitis and Mnire’s disease can also cause 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.
Complete deafness
is easy to recognize. Milder hearing loss may not be noticed right away, it
often comes on gradually. If you notice that you need to turn the volume up on
the radio or television, have difficulty understanding conversations, or need
to ask people to repeat what they say, you may have hearing loss.
Ayurveda for Ear Infection Hearing Loss
Sensorineural
hearing loss can usually cured to a great extent with the help of Ayurvedic herbal medicines.
Karnapooram is
the Ayurvedcic treatment for ear infection and ear pain. In this treatment, warm medicated oil is
poured into the external ear canal and detained for a specific time. This is
followed by massage around the ears and jaw area.
Ksheerabala (101)and Anu Thaliam are
two very effective Ayurvedic medicines for ear pain and ear infection.
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