Young People With Old Ears

September 15, 2005

I suspected the reason was that most

tinnitus was due to irreparable damage to the ear rather than liver

yang rising or jing vacuity.

>>>>

i think you are trying to be kind.Tinnitus has probably always been caused

by the same mechanisms.

Oakland, CA 94609

September 15, 2005

just interested

does any one out there get any lasting results with tinnitus

some people I know say they get great results with tinnitus , others like me,

say it is a difficult problem to get results with.

Heiko Lade

M.H.Sc.(TCM)

Lecturer and clinic supervisor

Auckland College of Natural Medicine

Website: www.acnm.co.nz

-

cha

Friday, September 16, 2005 2:51 PM

Young People With Old Ears

http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,68844,00.html?tw=rss.TEK

Having had several hundred patients over the years with longstanding

tinnitus (not typically their chief complaint) and having discussed

this matter with dozens of colleagues, I believe chinese medicine is

largely ineffective at treating this complaint in its common

presentation in America. I suspected the reason was that most

tinnitus was due to irreparable damage to the ear rather than liver

yang rising or jing vacuity. In the most severe cases, I could

always find a history of trauma. This article explains how many,

many milder cases could also be caused by trauma, in this case from

ipods and walkmen.

Chinese Herbs

September 15, 2005

Heiko,

I have never had any good results with tinnitus except when it was an acute case

of phlegm and wind, for example from a wind invasion with dampness.

Julie

-

Heiko Lade

Thursday, September 15, 2005 10:34 PM

Re: Young People With Old Ears

just interested

does any one out there get any lasting results with tinnitus

some people I know say they get great results with tinnitus , others like me,

say it is a difficult problem to get results with.

Heiko Lade

M.H.Sc.(TCM)

Lecturer and clinic supervisor

Auckland College of Natural Medicine

Website: www.acnm.co.nz

September 16, 2005

I do okay to pretty good for the Liver type (i.e. stress induced) but

for the chronic type, that isn't very easy.

On Sep 15, 2005, at 9:34 PM, Heiko Lade wrote:

> just interested

> does any one out there get any lasting results with tinnitus

> some people I know say they get great results with tinnitus ,

> others like me, say it is a difficult problem to get results with.

> Heiko Lade

> M.H.Sc.(TCM)

> Lecturer and clinic supervisor

> Auckland College of Natural Medicine

> Website: www.acnm.co.nz

>

> -

>

> cha

> Friday, September 16, 2005 2:51 PM

> Young People With Old Ears

>

> http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,68844,00.html?tw=rss.TEK

>

> Having had several hundred patients over the years with longstanding

> tinnitus (not typically their chief complaint) and having discussed

> this matter with dozens of colleagues, I believe chinese medicine is

> largely ineffective at treating this complaint in its common

> presentation in America. I suspected the reason was that most

> tinnitus was due to irreparable damage to the ear rather than liver

> yang rising or jing vacuity. In the most severe cases, I could

> always find a history of trauma. This article explains how many,

> many milder cases could also be caused by trauma, in this case from

> ipods and walkmen.

>

> Chinese Herbs

>

September 18, 2005

Young People With Old Ears

http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,68844,00.html?tw=wn_9techhead Page 1 of 1

Associated Press

07:53 AM Sep. 13, 2005 PT

Researchers fear the growing popularity of portable music players and other items that attach directly to the ears — including cell phones — is contributing to hearing loss in younger people.

"It's a different level of use than we've seen in the past," says Robert Novak, director of clinical education in audiology at Purdue University. "It's becoming more of a full-day listening experience, as opposed to just when you're jogging."

Increasingly, Novak says he's seeing too many young people with "older ears on younger bodies" — a trend that's been building since the portable Walkman made its debut a few decades back.

Everywhere she turns, Angella Day sees people carrying portable music players, often with the ear buds stuffed firmly in place. "They're very widespread," says Day, a senior at DePaul University who regularly listens to music on her own iPod while studying or working out. "So addicting."

To document the trend, Novak and colleagues have been randomly examining students and found a disturbing and growing incidence of what is known as noise-induced hearing loss. Usually, it means they've lost the ability to hear higher frequencies, evidenced at times by mild ear-ringing or trouble following conversations in noisy situations.

Hearing specialists say they're also seeing more people in their 30s and 40s — many of them among the first Walkman users — who suffer from more pronounced tinnitus, an internal ringing or even the sound of whooshing or buzzing in the ears.

"It may be that we're seeing the tip of the iceberg now," says Dr. John Oghalai, director of The Hearing Center at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, who's treating more of this age group. "I would not be surprised if we start to see even more of this."

Noise-induced hearing loss happens any number of ways, from attending noisy concerts and clubs to using firearms or loud power tools and even recreational vehicles (snowmobiles and some motorcycles are among the offenders).

Today, doctors say many people also are wearing headphones, not just to enjoy music, but also to block out ambient noise on buses, trains or just the street. And all of it can contribute to hearing loss.

"The tricky part is that you don't know early on. It takes multiple exposures and sometimes years to find out," says Dr. Colin Driscoll, an otologist at Minnesota's Mayo Clinic.

One telltale sign that you've done damage to your ears is when you leave a loud venue with ringing ears. If you rest your ears, they might recover, at least partially, doctors say. But with repeated exposure comes more damage to the hair cells in the inner ear, which are key to good hearing.

With long-lasting rechargeable batteries, people who use portable music players also are listening longer — and not giving their ears a rest, says Deanna Meinke, an audiologist at the University of Northern Colorado who heads the National Hearing Conservation Association's task force on children and hearing.

Often, she says, people also turn up the volume to ear-damaging levels.

A survey published this summer by Australia's National Acoustic Laboratories found, for instance, that about 25 percent of people using portable stereos had daily noise exposures high enough to cause hearing damage. And further research by Britain's Royal National Institute for Deaf People determined that young people, ages 18 to 24, were more likely than other adults to exceed safe listening limits.

How much is too much?

Meinke says a good rule of thumb comes from a study published in December: Researchers at Boston Children's Hospital determined that listening to a portable music player with headphones at 60 percent of its potential volume for one hour a day is relatively safe.

Experts also recommend protecting hearing in other ways — standing away from loud speakers, for instance, and using hearing protection when using machinery at work, home or for recreation.

Day, the DePaul student, concedes that she's never thought to carry ear plugs with her, as Driscoll at Mayo Clinic and others suggest.

"So what if you gave them out at the door at the concert? Would people wear them more?" Driscoll asks. "I think some would."

To that end, professional musicians have formed Hearing Education and Awareness for Rockers to promote hearing protection. And Meinke's committee is developing a teacher kit with a meter to show dangerous levels of sound — something educators in Oregon also have demonstrated with a web-based program called Dangerous Decibels.

"In the future," Meinke says, "I hope people will wear ear plugs the same as they wear their bike helmets or wear a seat belt."