Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Medical Treatment For Tinnitus - Choose The Best Option

By Thomas Coleman

Tinnitus problems can find a solution in many different kinds of treatment. Whether you take the conventional path or the alternative, is a matter of personal choice.

Till the current day, the world of conventional treatment has failed miserably to come with any satisfactory method of dealing with tinnitus. This is particularly serious when viewed with the fact that, more than 40 million people in the US alone suffer from the tinnitus, and hear the disturbing, inexplicable noises associated with the disease continuously, for days, for months and even, in cases, for years. No effective relief is available. These sounds of tinnitus tend to vary over a wide range, and can range from peculiar whooshing or hissing noises to tedious ringing sounds at low decibels. The resultant racket caused is potent enough to drive a person crazy, totally out of his/her senses. It is hard to justify why there are no satisfactory medications available, but the fact remains so. In all probability, the world of medicine, represented by the big corporate pharmaceutical houses is more concerned to earn sizeable profits from the medicines that they manufacture, and are not quite alarmed by tinnitus problems. Tinnitus is by nature, not a life-threatening ailment, and as such, it is perhaps not accorded due importance. When we look at what the conventional modes of tinnitus treatment has to offer, we feel hard-pressed to find even a single satisfactory answer.

Patients can however lay their hands on certain over-the-counter (OTC) drugs that comes packed in cartons or bottles that are hermetically sealed. These medicines have nothing new to offer though. These are in fact, the usual run-of-the mill anti-depression and/or anti-allergic drugs. In many cases, the side effects that these drugs have assume far greater seriousness than the actual disease. In such a scenario, the affected person should preferably stay away from these medicines, since they can take away the last reserves of mental calm.

Tinnitus Problems: Conventional Methods Of Treatment

Many patients tend to opt for medications that provide only short-term respite like the various infusion treatments. These methods are particularly popular among patients who can no longer endure the agonies of the continuous tinnitus sounds. In these cases, intravenous injections are used to introduce anesthetic drugs (of a mild variety) in the system of the affected persons. These medications are commonly termed as Lidocaine Infusion Treatments, and the duration of the relief they provide depends on the basic structure of the patients. In general, the benefits of these methods can last for as little as a couple of minutes to maybe a maximum of two hours. This treatment is priced highly too, and cannot be applied to all types of patients either. For example, if tinnitus is brought about by external reasons, like a tumor in the middle parts of the ear, lidocaine treatment is rendered ineffective. Infusing lidocaine can bring about no benefits in cases where an entire family suffers from some genetically transmitted ailment. If the patient have a second-degree or a third-degree block in his/her heart and do not use a pacemaker, lidocaine cannot be administered. The same is the case with those who have blockages in their sinoarterial system, and do not have a pacemaker as well.

Manipulations in the chiropractic system or changes in the osteopathic arrangements are also suggested as treatment measures. Massages in a deep tissue form that reach up to the internal muscles are done to realign the spine of the affected person. The logic behind this is that, if the spine is incorrectly aligned, tinnitus problems can result (albeit in rare cases). When the spine is realigned in the correct way, the ailment can hence be cured.

In the Eastern parts of the world, acupuncture techniques have been proved to be highly useful to deal with tinnitus. This method however, is not much used in other parts of the world. As used in China, acupuncture involves the placement of some needles at different locations of the patients' body. This method has indeed shown to give off favorable results. In fact, using these techniques, medical experts can perform open-heart surgeries on those who retain full consciousness. It is in fact, expected that these methods would be highly successful in treating tinnitus, if applied in the Western countries as well.

Medical Treatment For Tinnitus: Opt For The Best Course

The holistic modes of tinnitus treatment are the most effective in curing a person from these problems. As can be expected, these treatment methods involve the adoption of a rigorous way of living, with practice of yoga and other exercises (of Vedic origins) strongly recommended, and the regular consumption of foods like vegetables, edibles of an organic nature, and fruits being a must. Those affected by tinnitus are strongly warned against the consumption of all forms of alcohol. Eating meat or other food products made from meat, or smoking is also a strict no-no. Only if all these recommendations are followed, will the person be able to get prepared to deal with the three chief reasons that usher in tinnitus, which is:

Obstructions in the sinus, Problems generated due to excessive stress and anxiety, Damages in the nerves of the middle ear and Cochlear (inner ear) portions.

The first couple of these problems can be treated in a satisfactory fashion by holistic treatments. Those who are in favor of these treatments firmly believe that the third issue, involving the shape of the nerve endings would also be resolved on its own, with the nerves returning back to their correct formations and structure. Once that actually happens, transmission of erroneous signals to the brain would cease. In turn, the ears would no longer receive the distressing noise effects (which were earlier being sent along by the cells of the brain) of tinnitus either.

Medications are suggested by the holistic way only after all the underlying factors of the tinnitus disease, along with all triggers have been detected. The holistic approaches the human body as a whole and finds out all problem-creating factors. The method, unlike the conventional system does not treat only the symptoms. Since the causes of tinnitus are removed by the holistic approach, chances of a relapse are also ruled out. All in all, holistic treatments are much ahead in terms of offering good results against tinnitus. - 14130

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