Tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, is the sensation of hearing ringing, buzzing, hissing, chirping, whistling, or other sounds. The noise can be intermittent or continuous and can vary in volume. It is often worse when background noise is low, so you may be most aware of it at night when you're trying to fall asleep in a quiet room.
Karnanada (tinnitus) is a karna-roga (ear disorder)and comes under Urdhavajatrugata vikara (diseases located above the clavicle bone). The term Karna (ear) refers to organs that are responsible for the perception of the sound (includes external, middle, and internal ear). The term Nada refers to that which produces rhythmic sounds in the ear.
The vitiated vayu gets lodged in the shabda vahasrotas, thereby causing different types of sounds in the ear called as Karnanada.
Case Study
A 60-year-old male client came into my office with ringing sounds in both ears. Initially it started in the right ear and for one year it was not that noticeable. Then it started in the left ear and the sound was high-pitched and more noticeable at night than the daytime. This substantially affected his quality of life by disturbing his sleep and mood.
He was working in bar as a DJ and was working in lots of noise and AC and constantly drinking cold beverages.
Physical Examination
- Pulse: 86 beats per min
- Cardiovascular system: Normal
- Central nervous system: Normal
- Respiratory rate: 22/min
- Respiratory system: Normal
- Jivha (tongue): Nirama (no toxins)
- Mala Mutra Pravrutti (urine and stool): constipated on and off
- Prakruti: vata pradhana kapha
- Bala (strength): avara (poor)
- Jatharagni (digestive fire): Madhyama (Moderate)
- Nidra: poor
Assessment of the Patient’s Daily Routine
He had frequent rhinitis, exposure to cold wind, swimming and excessively listening to loud rock music. He had a vata-aggravating diet and lifestyle, going to sleep very late, continuously on phone calls, and excess traveling.
Due to the above etiology factors, vata dosha became aggravated. Aggravated vata dosha accumulates in the head and diminishes kapha dosha.
Recommended Diet and Lifestyle Changes
- Go to bed early
- Avoid all vata dosha aggravating factors
- Practice yoga and pranayama
Recommended Herbal Supplements
- Triphaladi Churnam
- Dasamulakatutrayadi Kwatham
- Maha Narayana Oil
- Kshirabala 101
- Dhanwantharam 101
- Ashwagandha Churnam
- Bala Arishtam
Ayurvedic Treatment Protocol
In this case we used two types of treatment, kapha balancing and vata balancing. As the client was suffering from rhinitis, the treatment required mrudu shodhana (mild laxative) with Triphaladi Churnam and shamana chikitsa (palliative treatment) with Dasamulakatutrayadi Kwatham tablets for the first 20 days.
The client was given a vata balancing treatment called abhyanga (body massage), shiroabhyanga (head massage), and karnapurana (filling the ear with oil) using Mahanarayana Oil for 7 days. Simultaneously he was advised to do Nasya (nasal drop therapy) with Kshirabala 101. Internally he was given Ashwagandha Churnam, Bala Arishtam and Dhanwantharam 101 to reduce vata dosha.
The entire program starting from detoxification to nourishment took 3 months. Client was feeling better and better every month and his condition did recover by 80%. However, whenever he indulged in the wrong diet and lifestyle the condition would slightly return. He was advised to follow a strict Ayurvedic regimen for vata to keep the condition to a minimum.
How An In-Depth Health Consultation Can Help Relieve Chronic Tinnitus
Chronic tinnitus can be physically draining especially if the person is kept awake at night. The best option for this chronic condition is to enlist the expertise of an Ayurvedic vaidya (doctor). An in-depth Ayurvedic health consultation will offer you a fresh look at the root causes and will advise the best course of treatment. Once the root cause is known, personalized foods, activities and herbal protocols can be recommended to bring the aggravated vata back into balance.
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