Prevent Hearing Loss with Asanavilwadi Tailam

by Sheela Rani Chunkath

A young friend of mine, about 21 years old, was suddenly taken aback when during his practical training he could not hear the humming sound from a tuning fork which had been struck. His friends of course gave him a hard time saying your ear must be full of wax; a stuffed ear for a stuffed shirt etc. This young person decided that he had better get an audiometric test done. He found that he had mild hearing problems in one ear. He could not hear some lower frequencies and lower decibels. There was some mild hearing loss and of course the only thing allopathy had to offer was a hearing aid.

Now why did this young person experience this hearing loss? It was due to a build up of kapha due to a permanent stuffy nose. This boy would drink cold juices, have ice creams and golguppas almost on a daily basis in spite of the fact that he had a cold. And he expected that being young and otherwise healthy there would be no repercussions. In fact, I used to be surprised that he could function normally with an almost permanent cold. The cold did not seem to bother him and often did not degenerate into a fever even on consumption of cold drinks and ice creams. So the habit of consuming very cold foods continued till the mild hearing loss was diagnosed.

In Ayurveda, we have a procedure which is both used to prevent and cure some ear problems. It is called Karnapoorana. In this procedure, warm medicated oil is gently dropped into the ear.

The patient is made to lie on his side. The outer ear is gently massaged with oil. In this case asanavilwadi tailam was used. About 20 to 30 drops are introduced into the ear. The patient lies still for about seven minutes, the oil gets absorbed to some extent, after which a small piece of cotton is placed at the ear opening to prevent the rest of the oil from draining out. The procedure is repeated on the other ear also. Normally both ears are treated as a preventive measure. While in my friend's case, it was used for treating and preventing hearing loss, this procedure is also used to treat minor eye infections, headaches etc. All the indriyas are located in the face and all are interconnected.

The oil that is used has the following ingredients. Pterocarpus marsupium (Asana), Aegle marmelos (Vilwa), Tinospora cordifolia (Guduchi), Glycorrhiza glabra (Madhuca), Zingiber officinalis (Nagara), Terminalia chebula, Terminalia bellerica and Emblica officinalis(Triphala), cow's milk and sesame oil (Til Tailam).

Pterocarpus marsupium or Asana is a wonderful herb with incredible properties. It has anti-ageing properties and causes cell and tissue regeneration; possibly the reason why it is able to stop hearing loss. It is also a drug of choice for diabetes.

In an urban setting, it is likely that most people are subjected to noise pollution; as one grows older one may suffer from light hearing loss. In these situations Asanavilwadi Tailam is a wonderful tailam to use. Regular use of a few drops of this tailam (not filling the ears as in the case of Karnapooranam procedure) can help prevent hearing loss and keep your inner ear healthy. Those with active ear infections need to consult a vaidyar before the use of this tailam.

--- The writer is retired Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu. She can be reached at Sheelarani.arogyamantra@gmail. com. Earlier articles can be accessed at http://arogyamantra.blogspot.com/