At the Center for Cooperative Medicine, we are studying the effects of laser light at low intensity in tinnitus, hearing loss and Meniere’s disease and are pleased to specialize in ear disorders.
How effective is laser therapy?
In a study of 348 patients by Dr. Lutz Wilden, virtually everyone responded positively, and average hearing capacity increased by nearly 21%. The degree of improvement correlated with patients’ age and condition’s duration.
Who may benefit?
Almost anyone with hearing loss, tinnitus, vertigo or other disorders related to the ear according to Dr. Wilden, who writes, “….even serious impairments such as the most excruciating cases of tinnitus, dysacusia, morbus Menière and bradyacusia can be consi-
derably alleviated and even healed with the aid of modern light technology and the corresponding medical management.”
Laser therapy has biostimulative and regenerative effects documented to improve hearing and tinnitus. A significant body of research suggests that many, if not most, with hearing loss, tinnitus or Meniere’s disease may respond positively.
What is the nature of tinnitus, hearing loss and ear ?
Tinnitus, the perception of sound without an external cause, is an emergency signal by cells in the inner ear according to Dr. Wilden. Just as placing pressure on the eyes with a finger causes one to see stars, so tinnitus may be the result of stress to the cells responsible for our sense of hearing in the inner ear.
In our modern society background noise is omnipresent, often at high levels, and our sense of hearing has been universally challenged. Wilden believes that tinnitus, hearing loss, vertigo, and altered sensation within the ear are often the result of “biological exhaustion of the inner ear”, and this may be due to acute or chronic exposure to sound, antibiotics, other drugs and many other stressors.
How may laser and bioelectromangetic therapies restore hearing and eliminate tinnitus?
Laser and bioelectromagnetic therapies have properties to promote biological function and regenerate tissue which may help re-establish normal transmission of nerve impulses. Acoustic or other trauma, including drugs and even the aging process, may damage delicate cells within the cochlea, an important sound processing structure in the inner ear, resulting in hearing loss. Tinnitus is another frequent consequence in which nerves are stimulated to send impulses to the brain perceived as sound but which has no external cause. Laser and bioelectromagnetic therapies may also reduce middle and inner ear inflammation and even help to reverse ankylosis, fusion of the tiny bones within the ear. See what has researchers talking:
- Laser Research
- Ear Disorders
- Meniere’s Disease
- Bioelectromagnetic Research
- Hearing Loss – Hypoacusis
What is treatment like?
Laser therapy may be administered via twin laser diodes directly into each ear while one is lying comfortably in a darkened room. For most individuals, most of the time, treatment is quite comfortable. Many fall asleep. One may experience mild warmth from the laser diodes within each ear.
As treatment progresses, the volume of tinnitus may increase, and its pitch may rise. Some may experience sensitivity to sound, pressure or other sensations. Yet these may be considered signs that treatment is working. Wilden writes, “First the patients experience an amelioration of their hearing capacity. Then the symptoms sensation of pressure in the ear and vertigo improve, and finally the ringing in the ears (= tinnitus) changes its property; having first become unsteady in volume, tone quality and frequency (which often gets higher and higher) and more easily assignable to corresponding stressors, it gradually thins down and recedes further and further into the background, until it eventually disappears for good.”
How many treatments will be necessary?
This may depends upon the nature, degree and duration of the condition. Generally, acute conditions and younger patients are likely to respond more quickly. Long-standing, chronic conditions and older patients may require more treatment. The longer and more severe the problem, the greater the time and laser energy which may be necessary. There are no panaceas and no guarantees, yet Dr. Wilden also notes, “After thirty years of experimental and clinical research, there aren`t any known side-effects of low level laser light.”
To learn more, visit Laser Therapy in Ear Disorders.