Monday, December 26, 2022

Managing Tinnitus

 An attempt to store information around tinnitus (the ringing sound in the ear) and what can be done to keep it to manageable level, though it cannot be cured. 

Disclaimer: This is a combination of what I have heard from doctors, other people who have tinnitus, what I read on the Internet, and the results of what I am trying out - primarily storing it for myself, to find ways to manage my tinnitus that has got louder since Nov end. It has significantly come down since I started specific pranayama and yoga, tailored for tinnitus reduction. 

I have not verified any of the info I got from the Net. If something has worked for me, I will mention it here - maybe other techniques will work for others. 

Remember that the causes of tinnitus could vary from person to person - therefore different solutions will work for different people. It is very important to get a proper checkup done if you develop tinnitus - sometimes it is a sign of hearing loss. Though sometimes it may not be real hearing loss - the frequency of the tinnitus could be masking other frequencies. 

Which nerve is affected by tinnitus?

  • The vestibulo-cochlear nerve, or eighth cranial nerve, carries signals from the inner ear to the brain.

What is known to aggravate it? 

  • Allergies (the nasal canals and sinuses are blocked, which in turn irritate the ear)
  • Fatigue and stress
  • Vitamin deficiencies
  • Vaatha increase and imbalance (according to Ayurveda). Covid is known to increase Vaatha. This causes a lot of symptoms across the body. I believe this could be the cause of tinnitus in some people. 

What could help reduce it? 

What has worked for me
  • Yoga and pranayama specifically for tinnitus. I am learning this from my Yoga teacher and it seems to be reducing the sound! 😀 The sound has significantly come down/become less frequent since I have been doing these specific breathing exercises that include humming, and a couple of yoga poses. The breathing is a combination of Ujjai breath and brahmari in various variations. There are entire days I barely hear it now. 
  • This works on the Ayurvedic principle that excess Vaatha causes tinnitus and these poses/breathing practices are an attempt to bring down Vaatha. An imbalance in Vaatha can affect your nervous system. 
  • If you notice that the sound is going up after meals, it is possibly increased Vaatha that is the trigger. Try reducing/avoiding food that increases Vaatha in the body. You can read up on the Net about this or talk to an Ayurveda doctor/nutritionist who can prescribe the right food for you. Vaatha also goes up with multi-tasking, too much activity, stress. All of this has to be regulated. Check if the sound is coming down after you bring down Vaatha. 
  • A good night's sleep (this works for me sometimes - though I can't really control the quality of my sleep beyond doing all the right things. I even got a weighted blanket - this does deepen sleep. Get the right one for your body weight.) 
  • Some doctors prescribe medicines that regulate your sleep and circadian rhythms. Like Meloset. This deepens your sleep - and so the sound is usually lesser the next day. 
  • Rest - this is very important, since fatigue increases tinnitus.
  • Track your sound daily in a table - Have columns for Morning/Afternoon/Evening/Night/Comments. I have found this extremely useful! 😀
    • Add comments in the last column about what you ate or did differently following which the sound increased or decreased.
    • Also the quality of your sleep the previous night. 
    • You will start seeing a trend - you or your doctor will be able to identify what aggravates your tinnitus based on this.
What hasn't worked for me/what I have not tried - but could work for others
  • Some doctors prescribe allergy medicines - if your tinnitus is caused by an allergy, this will work.
  • Massages around head and ear and shoulders and neck
  • If you start getting an itchy throat, the start of an allergy, take an anti-allergen and stop it immediately. May help prevent the tinnitus sound from going up. 
  • Some easy techniques using your hands and fingers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FztARB3rbw0&feature=youtu.be (has not worked for me so far - or maybe I did not do it regularly)
  • Vit B 12 and D intake
  • Vagus Nerve Stimulation. "Vagus Nerve Stimulation Resets the Patterns of Brain Activity That Have Gone Awry in Tinnitus. In many cases, tinnitus is caused by hyperactivity (or too much activity) in the brain's auditory cortex. Vagus nerve stimulation is a promising new tool for the treatment of chronic tinnitus. Current protocols produce a clinically significant but moderate improvement in tinnitus distress and a modest benefit in tinnitus loudness perception." (Read about it, not tried)
Please let me know if anything has worked for you. 

Thursday, June 30, 2022

Saving/Recycling Water: Tips

We all know we need to save water. Re-use and recycle as much as possible. Can we start sharing easy ways to do this, habits that we can easily build and also encourage in our families and friends?

This is a crowd-sourced list - so please let me know what I could add here, thank you!


Tips

Egg-boiled water
  • Do you boil eggs at home? Cool the water you used and pour it for your plants - plants benefit from the calcium. You can keep a bucket and keep storing the water and use it whenever you water your plants. 
Water used for boiling/rinsing vegetables
  • Water used for boiling potatoes or vegetables. Collect for a day to re-use in the garden.
  • Wash your vegetables in a small tub. Re-use this water for your garden/community garden. 

Water in restaurants
  • In restaurants, don't allow the waiter to re-fill your glass if you don't plan to drink that much water. The leftover water from your table will be thrown away - we lose thousands of litres of water this way in cities every single day. Even better - take your own water bottle whenever you step out. Add some chia seeds in it if making it nutritious will motivate you. :) Or take water in which you have boiled jeera/coriander seeds for a couple of minutes - helps improve your digestion. 

Water-saver Products


Monday, June 27, 2022

Order Medicines Online

 Compiled from many sources. Please share if you know of other good ones. 

Ayurvedic Hospitals/Treatment

 Compiled from various sources. Please share if you know of other good places. 


Retirement Homes/Assisted Living/Care Providers

Compiled from various sources. I have not verified any of these. If you know of others, please let me know. Focusing on facilities in and around Bangalore. 

If anyone you know lives in one of these places and can vouch for it, please let me know. I won't mention names here, but will share the recommendation. 

Assisted Living

Bangalore

  • Primus Reflection, Kanakapura Road. A retirement community with a small clinic with bed setup inside. (a friend's friend's parents stay there, they are very happy)

Mysore

Coimbatore

Goa

Care Providers


Support Communities

For the Homeless Elderly


Friday, October 29, 2021

Tests to do Post Covid Vaccine

Disclaimer: This information has been compiled following discussion with a doctor. But if you have specific health problems, you may need to do these tests even earlier - and maybe you need to do additional tests. Speak to a doctor and follow their advice. If caught early, problems can be reversed - don't wait for symptoms. 

Vaccines are important - increasing our risk of catching Covid is not wise. And long Covid can seriously affect your life. We just need to make sure we follow the right protocols after we take vaccines. Only very few people develop issues, most people will be fine

To detect potential Covid vaccine-induced sub-clinical/delayed myocarditis early on, it is advisable to do the following tests 45 days after your second vaccine. Or earlier if you have existing conditions, see Disclaimer above.

It is advisable to do these tests even if you have NO SYMPTOMS and are feeling fine. Applies to people who have NOT had Covid also. 

It may be good to AVOID any strenuous exercise until these tests are done.

Some people have heart attacks following vaccine-induced inflammation in the heart, which does not show any symptoms. These tests will catch the inflammation if it exists. 

A few basic blood tests are usually prescribed to check impact to your health parameters. These are some of the tests doctors prescribe usually to check your risk of heart disease or diabetes post Covid. Please check with your doctor - they will prescribe tests based on your existing health condition, predisposition to certain illnesses etc.

  1. CBC + ESR 
  2. High Sensitivity CRP 
  3. Troponin 
  4. D Dimer 

If any issues in reports, doctor may advice further tests like ECG and 2 D Echo. 

 Ask the doctor also when you should repeat these tests. That will depend on the reports, age and co morbidities. Do not try to read the results yourself - show them to a doctor. 

High Sensitivity CRPHigh-sensitivity CRP is one of a growing number of cardiac risk markers that are used to help determine a person’s risk. C-reactive protein (CRP) is a protein that increases in the blood with inflammation and infection as well as following a heart attack, surgery, or trauma.

ESR: Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR or sed rate) is a test that indirectly measures the degree of inflammation present in the body. 

Troponin: Troponins are a group of proteins found in skeletal and heart (cardiac) muscle fibers that regulate muscular contraction. Troponin tests measure the level of cardiac-specific troponin in the blood to help detect heart injury.

D Dimer: Is used to find out if you are at risk of getting blood clots. This is a known side effect of Covid, so Covid-recovered patients are advised to take this a couple of times following recovery. And are usually prescribed Aspirin for a month to prevent blood clots. To eliminate the possibility of the same situation being caused by the vaccine, it is advisable to get this test done. 

Reference

Note that research is still going on because it is a new situation. No one has all the answers - so the only thing we can do is do tests and keep a check. If you find any more recent research on vaccine-induced myocarditis, please let me know. 

Cureus: A Late Presentation of COVID-19 Vaccine-Induced Myocarditis

The Lancet: Delayed-onset Myocarditis

Dec 10, 2022: https://www.hindustantimes.com/lifestyle/health/is-covid-19-vaccine-causing-increase-in-heart-attack-cases-here-s-what-cardiologists-say-101670315250295.html

Sunday, September 26, 2021

Upset Stomach: Home Remedies

Disclaimer: Compiled from various people. May or may not work for you. I have personally tried out only a few of these.

Until your stomach gets better, stop your weight loss and other goals. If your gut is not functioning well anyways nothing is getting absorbed. 
  1. Homemade curd with half a teaspoon of methi seeds....twice a day.
  2. BRAT diet. Banana rice apple toast. 
  3. Pudin Hara
  4. Barley water at regular intervals of time
  5. Castor oil for your belly button - at night. This reduces body heat.
  6. Drink plenty of water. Have apples & pomegranate. 
  7. Enterogermina Probiotic Supplement twice a day after food
  8. Kokum syrup. Reduces heat in body. Someone recommended this.
  9. Have some sabja/basil seeds after soaking in water. They swell up. This reduces heat in the body. 
  10. Get arrow root powder. (Kottakkal Arya Vaidya Shala should have). Mix 1 big spoon of the power in cold water. Then add a couple of cups of water and boil, constantly stirring. It will become a paste - then stop boiling and have. Is a great binder.