| The first line of natural therapy for acoustic trauma is | | | | a quarter of soldiers who do not have hearing loss |
| immediate cessation of consumption of foods with | | | | suffer vitamin B12 deficiency.) The researchers |
| added salt. In the 1990's, Japanese researchers | | | | concluded there is a relationship between vitamin B12 |
| learned that the commonly prescribed diuretic Lasix | | | | deficiency and dysfunction of the auditory pathway. |
| (furosemide) in combination with vitamin therapy | | | | Some of the soldiers given vitamin B12 supplements |
| greatly enhanced the chances of recovery if | | | | regained some of their hearing. |
| treatment was begun within four weeks of injury. | | | | The people who are most likely to be deficient in |
| You could, of course, ask your physician for a | | | | vitamin B12 are vegetarians who take either |
| prescription. Lasix is extremely inexpensive | | | | antibiotics or any kind of medication for |
| (approximately US $0.10 per dose), but you can | | | | gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) on a regular |
| accomplish a similar effect by completely avoiding | | | | basis. Vitamin B12 is nontoxic even when it is taken in |
| pickles, canned or processed foods, smoked meats, | | | | a dosage 1,000 times greater than the RDA. |
| luncheon meats, and any other foods with a | | | | Vitamin D deficiency is associated with chronic |
| high-sodium content immediately after exposure to | | | | hearing loss. It will not have a dramatic healing effect |
| loud noise and for at least two months. Especially if | | | | on acoustic trauma, but it supports general health and |
| your doctor gives you steroid treatment, you can | | | | may be helpful to recovery. |
| accelerate healing by avoiding all sources of sodium | | | | Vitamin E is an important cofactor for vitamin A. In |
| and by increasing your consumption of fresh fruits | | | | laboratory studies with animals, the amount of |
| and vegetables eaten raw or cooked with salt. | | | | vitamin A in the bloodstream stays low regardless of |
| The body needs manganese and zinc to make | | | | intake until vitamin E levels are normalized. Vitamin E |
| superoxide dismutase, a free radical fighter that is | | | | supplementation is useful even if you don't take |
| particularly stressed during steroid treatment. There is | | | | vitamin A, since it complements the vitamin A |
| no specific evidence that these two minerals heals | | | | available from the diet. The very low dosage of |
| acoustic trauma, but they are inexpensive and free | | | | vitamin E recommended here is just enough to |
| of side effects and likely to be supportive of | | | | activate the vitamin A needed for treating acoustic |
| recovery. | | | | trauma. It will not hurt you to take up to 10 times |
| Vitamin A in very high doses for very short periods | | | | more. |
| sometimes can greatly improve hearing loss. A Swiss | | | | There is some ambivalence in the medical literature |
| study in 1952 found that survivors of explosions | | | | concerning the efficacy of ginkgo in treating acoustic |
| sometimes regained hearing after treatment with | | | | trauma. An often-cited experiment with guinea pigs |
| 300,000 IU of vitamin A per week for 6 weeks. The | | | | found that ginkgo reduces noise-related hearing loss |
| effect of the vitamin was greatest for people whose | | | | only when it is given intravenously, but this study |
| acoustic trauma was the most recent. Vitamin A | | | | only tracked ginkgo's effects on the animals for 3-1/2 |
| helped recover the ability to hear high pitches more | | | | hours. |
| than it helped recover the ability to hear low intensity | | | | Another study found positive benefits of ginkgo in |
| sounds, such as whispers. | | | | treating laboratory rats. A clinical study with human |
| The drawback to using vitamin A as a supplement is | | | | volunteers in Switzerland found considerable benefit in |
| that a dose that is big enough to help heal acoustic | | | | the emergency treatment of acoustic trauma with |
| trauma is big enough to cause side effects. Problems | | | | injections of ginkgo, but this treatment program also |
| from using even up to 300,000 IU of vitamin A per | | | | used repeated treatments in a hyperbaric (high |
| day (nearly 7 times as much as was used in the | | | | pressure) oxygen chamber and prednisone shots. |
| Swiss study) are rare, but they are significant. | | | | Low doses of ginkgo do not help problems related to |
| The first signs of vitamin A overdose are dry skin | | | | acoustic trauma. You probably need to take 240 mg |
| and chapped lips, especially in dry weather. Later | | | | of ginkgo a day to get any benefit at all. |
| signs of toxicity are headache, mood swings, and | | | | A beneficial effect of ginkgo that just beginning to |
| pain in muscles and joints. In massive doses, vitamin | | | | be confirmed in the scientific literature is relief from |
| A can cause liver damage. In the first 3 months of | | | | the fear-response of startling loud sounds, although |
| pregnancy, it can cause birth defects. Women who | | | | this effect has only been confirmed in animal studies. |
| are or who could become pregnant should strictly | | | | Like vitamin E, ginkgo also can increase the risk of |
| limit their intake of vitamin A to 5,000 IU per day or | | | | bleeding or bruising if you take the blood thinners |
| less. Discontinue vitamin A at the first sign of toxicity, | | | | warfarin (Coumadin), clopidogrel (Plavix), or aspirin. If |
| and do not use it for longer than the recommended | | | | bruising or bleeding occur, stop taking ginkgo |
| 6 weeks. | | | | immediately. Don't take more than 240 mg a day, |
| A study by the Israeli Army found that about half of | | | | because high dosages of ginkgo can cause nausea, |
| 86 soldiers who suffered hearing loss related to | | | | diarrhea, stomach cramps, or headaches in some |
| acoustic trauma were deficient in vitamin B12 at the | | | | individuals. |
| time of the injury. (The study also found that about | | | | |