Management of pediatric sensory neural hearing loss: a case report

Abstract

Abstract Early childhood is the age of learning and experiencing various things through hearing or seeing. Any abnormality in hearing in this age group makes the child dull and self-isolating, affecting his morale. This is a case of an 8-year-old boy with deficient hearing from both ears, which was left unnoticed until the age of 5 years. There is no similar family history. The antenatal and neonatal history was found to be normal, but the child used to get fever and upper respiratory tract infection very frequently. The patient was taken for an otorhinology consultation after being noticed nonresponsive to moderately loud sounds and calls from behind. Otologic investigations—brain-evoked response audiometry and distortion product otoacoustic emissions—revealed bilateral mild-to-moderate hearing loss. Ayurveda treatment was given with 8 months of follow-up, and investigations were recorded. The aim of this report was to analyze a case of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) in a pediatric age group and its management through Ayurveda. The site of this study was the National Institute of Ayurveda Hospital, Jaipur, and this is a single-case report. All the relevant history was taken, followed by the investigations required for the case. Since the patient was a minor, consent was obtained from his father for the publication of this case report. For the conceptual part, various textbooks and research papers on Ayurveda and allopathy available online and offline were referred to. The patient was advised to go for speech therapy along with the Ayurvedic treatment Karnapoorana and other oral formulations. After 8 months of follow-up, this patient was found to be more responsive with improved hearing and general immunity.