Sudden deafness, a sensorineural hearing loss, occurs abruptly for reasons unknown. Its main clinical feature is a sudden profound sensorineural deafness, accompanied by tinnitus and dizziness and a tendency to get cured spontaneously. The disorder is usually unilateral and occurs more often in females and mostly in the middle-aged. In TCM, it belongs to the category of "bao long" "cu long," both meaning sudden deafness.  

Main Points of Diagnosis

1. In most cases there exist mental factors or a history of virus infection prior to the attack of the disease.

2. It occurs abruptly. The patient often has severe deafness or even loses hearing entirely within an hour or a day.

3. There is often an accompanying tinnitus or vertigo.

4. Otic endoscopy examination indicates normal.

4. Audiometric curve shows that deafness is a sensorineural hearing loss. Low-frequency deafness and even deafness are seen more often and recruitment may be present.  

Differentiation and Treatment of Common Syndromes     

Main Symptoms and signs: Deafness and tinnitus suddenly occur, in most cases resulting from tense mood or overwork, and are accompanied with restlessness, irritability, dizziness. and insomnia. The tongue is light red with little fur. The pulse is taut.

Therapeutic Principle: Promoting the flow of qi and blood circulation, relaxing muscles and tendons and removing obstruction from the channels.

Recipe: Decoction for Activating Blood Circulation with additional herbs

peach kernel

safflower

ligusticum rhizome,

grassleaved sweetflag rhizome

bupleurum root

red peony root

pueraria root

fresh ginger

Chinese date

The decocting method is the same as for the treatment of chronic catarrhal otitis media.

For those who have a feeling of fullness and discomfort in the chest and hyochondrium as well as restlessness and irritability, add 9 grams of gentian root, 9 grams of scutellaria root and 15 grams of capejasmine fruit. For those with severe tinnitus, add 30 grams of magnetite which is to be decocted first and 9 grams of chastetree fruit. For those with dizziness, add 30 grams of fleece-flower stem, 9 grams of gastrodia tuber and 30 grams of abalone shell.  

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