22
the guardian
The HEALTH | OCTOBER, 2018
ESSENTIAL OIL SANCTUARY
Tinnitus
can affect
the quality
of life
THE person may also experi-
ence fatigue, stress, sleep
problems, trouble concen-
trating, memory problems,
depression, anxiety and
irritability.
Treatment
Tinnitus
The bothersome
perception of noise
“Long term
exposure to loud
noises like heavy
equipment, chain
saws, firearms and
portable music
devices can lead
to hearing loss and
tinnitus.”
Shingles
“Classical
symptoms of
shingles are rash
on the face, neck
or on the nerve
roots. It starts of
as severe pain as
some patients
may not display
any rash in
the beginning.”
T
INNITUS is the perception
of noise or ringing in the
ears. The noise can be
ringing, buzzing, roaring,
clicking or hissing. Although
it is bothersome, it usually does
not signify any underlying serious
problem.
Pantai Hospital Kuala Lumpur con-
sultant physician and geriatrician Dato’
Dr Rajbans Singh pointed to several
causes of tinnitus, among which are age-
related hearing loss as one gets older.
This is called presbycusis.
“Long term exposure to loud noises
like heavy equipment, chain saws, fire-
arms and portable music devices can
lead to hearing loss and tinnitus.”
“Earwax blockage – too much earwax
can harden and cause hearing loss and
irritation of ear drum which can lead
to tinnitus. Ear bone changes called
otosclerosis which can run in families,
Meniere’s disease – an inner ear disorder
THE risk of getting shingles increases
as you age. About half of all shingles
cases are in adults age 60 or older. The
chance of getting shingles becomes
much greater by age 70.
Pantai Hospital Kuala Lumpur
consultant physician and geriatrician
Dato’ Dr Rajbans Singh explained that
shingles is caused by chicken pox virus
- varicella-zoster virus (VZV).
“After you recover from chickenpox,
the virus continues to live in some of
your nerve cells. As we age, the immune
system is lower, cancer, diabetes, auto-
immune disease, medication such as
steroids or even stress causes a strain
on the body and weakens the immune
system. This results in the virus getting
re-activated, resurfacing as a rash just
like the one during chicken pox.”
“Classical symptoms of shingles are
rash on the face, neck or on the nerve
roots. It starts of as severe pain as some
patients may not display