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Natural
approaches
to
inner
ear
disorders;
Meniere’s

disease,
vertigo
&
tinnitus

Peripheral
vascular
disorders
are
the
most
common.
They
fall
into
five
categories:


1.
Meniere's
disease
‐
an
inner
ear
fluid
disorder
that
causes
vertigo,
hearing
loss,
tinnitus
and
fullness
in
the
ear.



2.
Benign
Paroxysmal
Positional
Vertigo
(BPPV)
‐
a
brief,
intense
sensation
of
vertigo
that
occurs
because
of
a

specific
positional
change
of
the
head.



3.
Labyrinthitis
‐
an
infection
or
inflammation
of
the
inner
ear
causing
dizziness
and
loss
of
balance.



4.
Vestibular
neuronitis
‐
a
viral
infection
of
the
vestibular
nerve.



5.
Perilymph
fistula
‐
a
leakage
of
inner
ear
fluid
to
the
middle
ear.



The
balance
system
works
with
the
visual
and
skeletal
systems
to
maintain
orientation.
Visual
signals
are
sent
to

the
brain
and
compared
to
information
from
the
vestibular
systems
and
muscles
and
joints.


An
organ
in
the
inner
ear,
the
labyrinth,
is
a
central
player
in
the
vestibular
or
balance
system.
Inside
the
labyrinth

are
three
semicircular
canals
which
are
filled
with
fluid.
As
the
head
moves,
the
fluid
inside
the
semicircular
canals

signals
to
the
brain
its
relative
motion.
Each
semicircular
canal
has
a
bulged
end
that
contains
hair
cells.
Rotation

of
the
head
causes
the
fluid
to
flow,
which
in
turn
causes
displacement
of
the
top
portion
of
the
hair
cells.
The

endolymphatic
sac
is
a
fluid
reservoir
that
keeps
the
fluids
in
a
constant
volume
in
the
semicircular
canals.


Two
other
organs
which
are
also
part
of
the
vestibular
system,
the
utricle
and
saccule,
are
responsible
for

detecting
linear
acceleration,
or
movement
in
a
straight
line.
The
hair
cells
in
theses
organs
are
blanketed
with
a

jelly‐like
layer
which
contains
tiny
calcium
stones
called
otoconia.
When
the
head
is
tilted
or
the
body
position
is

changed
with
respect
to
gravity,
the
displacement
of
the
stones
causes
the
hair
cell
to
bend,
providing
proper

balance.


visit
is
at
hadleywoodhealthcare.co.uk


Management
approaches


Low
Sodium
(salt)
diet.


There
is
no
doubt
that
restriction
of
dietary
salt
does
help
large
numbers
of
Meniere's
patients.
Reducing
salt

intake
has
more
complex
and
far‐reaching
effects
than
that
of
simply
changing
plasma
or
endolymph
sodium

level.
In
order
to
maintain
a
constant
composition
of
blood
plasma,
the
kidneys
adjust
their
capacity
for
ion

transport
activity
according
to
the
amount
of
salt
intake.
These
adjustments
are
achieved
by
a
number
of

hormones,
including
aldosterone,
which
control
the
amount
of
ion
transport
performed
by
the
kidney.
It
is

thought
that
changes
in
hormones
such
as
aldosterone
may
also
affect
ion
transport
processes
in
the
ear,
in
some

way
altering
the
way
endolymph
is
regulated.


Other
suggestions.


Some
sufferers
report
that
by
limiting
sugar,
MSG
(monosodium
glutamate)
caffeine
and/or
alcohol
their
attacks

occur
less
frequently.
However,
these
exclusions
tend
to
be
a
variable,
so
each
individual
needs
to
make
their

own
decision
of
what
is
appropriate.
It
is
important
to
be
as
objective
as
possible
in
this
assessment.
If
dietary

restriction
does
not
alleviate
the
symptoms
then
do
not
adopt
an
increasingly
restrictive
diet.
It
may
be
that
your

form
of
the
disease
may
not
be
alleviated
by
diet
alone.
It
is
unrealistic
to
expect
that
even
the
strictest
dietary

management
will
prevent
Ménière's
disease
in
all
patients.
The
best
approach
is
to
keep
a
diary
in
which

symptoms
are
rated
as
objectively
as
possible.
Also,
it
is
important
to
avoid
making
"spurious"
associations

between
events
and
symptoms.
For
example,
an
attack
following
a
specific
food
does
not
necessarily
mean
that

this
food
produced
the
attack.
Perhaps
the
attack
could
have
occurred
anyway,
even
without
that
type
of
food.

The
key
is
to
be
objective
and
to
monitor
your
symptoms
over
a
prolonged
period.
If
any
strategy
reduces
the

frequency
of
the
attacks
it
is
logical
to
maintain
that
strategy.
However,
If
you
maintain
a
controlled,
healthy
diet

and
attacks
persist,
you
should
not
feel
"guilty"
that
perhaps
your
diet
was
not
"strict
enough".
Some
people
will

not
respond
simply
to
dietary
management
and
no
amount
of
restrictions
will
help.
The
key
is
to
try
to
be

objective
in
your
personal
assessment.


Ginkgo
Biloba
Extract


Several
studies
conducted
using
pharmaceutical‐grade
Ginkgo
Biloba
Extract
(GBE)
have
demonstrated
it's

superiority
over
placebo
and
equivalency
to
a
popular
anti‐dizziness
medication.
One
study,
conducted
in
France

on
70
patients
with
vertigo,
reported
that
over
a
3
month
period
that
"47%
of
patients
who
received
the
GBE
were

rid
of
their
symptoms
as
against
18%
of
those
who
received
the
placebo."


In
an
Italian
study,
44
patients
complaining
of
vertigo
caused
by
vascular
vestibular
disorders
were
randomly

treated
with
GBE
or
with
betahistine
dihydrochloride
for
3
months.
Both
reduced
the
speed
of
vertigo
but

betahistine
dihydrochloride
considerably
reduced,
where
GBE
considerably
improved,
the
visual‐vestibular

association.


A
Polish
study
combined
GBE
and
kinezytherapy,
a
type
of
physical
rehabilitation
used
for
neurologically
impaired

patients,
such
as
those
with
MS.
They
compared
a
group
using
GBE
and
kinezytherapy
with
those
using

kinezytherapy
alone.
Their
conclusions
state
that
"Control
examination
revealed
gradual
improvement
in

vestibular
tests
in
both
groups
(with
and
without
ginkgo
extract)
but
in
patients
treated
with
GBE
the

improvement
was
clearer
and
faster
in
dynamic
posturography.
It
implies
a
central
effect
of
GBE
that
allows
fuller

vestibular
compensation
sooner."


An
excellent
French
compilation
of
the
benefits
of
ginkgo
provided
an
overview
of
clinical
studies
titled
"Ginkgo

Biloba:
State
of
knowledge
in
the
dawn
of
the
year
2000".
This
overview
discusses
all
the
health
benefits
of
ginkgo


visit
is
at
hadleywoodhealthcare.co.uk


and
the
conditions
that
are
treated
by
it.
One
section
reads
"Regarding
the
vestibular
and
auditory
systems,

experimental
and
clinical
studies
have
shown
the
efficacy
of
GBE
in
treating
hypoacusis,
tinnitus,
vertigo,
dizziness

and
other
symptoms
of
vestibulocochlear
disorders."



Acupuncture


Acupuncture
has
helped
many
people
with
inner
ear
problems
but
the
fact
that
we
do
not
know
the
exact

pathophysiology
behind
many
of
the
condition
makes
it
difficult
to
predict
any
response.
In
cases
where
the
inner

ear
problem
is
associated
with
deafness
we
know
that
acupuncture
is
unlikely
to
be
of
help
since
we
know
that

acupuncture
does
not
work
in
sensory
neural
deafness
despite
the
claims
from
the
Chinese
literature.


Different
acupuncture
practitioners
will
have
different
‘formulas’
for
treating
inner
ear
problems
but
in
general

the
following
points
are
generally
accepted
as
being
suitable
and
,
in
my
experience,
associated
with
the
greatest

success.


Liver
3
 Small
intestine
19




Stomach
7
 Pericardium
6



 


visit
is
at
hadleywoodhealthcare.co.uk


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