30th December 2020: A 50- year-old married lady, mother of three children and a college teacher by profession presented with complaint of blocked feeling in right ear, with hearing impairment of right ear since 8th November 2020. No history of pain in right ear. This was an ailment from covid infection which she suffered on 8th November 2020.
She had fever for two days, body ache for 4 days and cough for 15 days. She did not take any treatment for it. However, post covid she never felt fully recovered. Past history of old ear perforation in right ear. Usually, such perforations heal automatically. She felt confusion of mind before menses and felt better by walking outdoors in the fresh air.
Family history: Father expired due to myocardial infarction age 51
Mother suffers from hypertension and cervical spondylosis
Paternal grandfather died of stomach cancer
Paternal grandmother had diabetes mellitus
Maternal Grand Father died due to cancer of lung
Mother’s side – 3 Aunts died of cancer
Elder sister suffers from hypothyroidism
Younger sister suffers from S.L.E
Considering that the cold had settled in the ear, I prescribed Kali-Sulph 1M, 1 dose as an acute remedy.
Follow up end of January 2021: No relief in blocked feeling in right ear with hearing impairment, Confusion of mind also not improved. No medicine was prescribed but patient was advised to visit an ear specialist.
Follow up on 19th June 2021– Patient was informed by the ear specialist in February that there is nothing wrong with the right ear and that her hearing should return in a few weeks. As per the audiogram, the right ear had mild conductive hearing loss. The rest was all within normal limits.
She complained of upper backache, better by stretching, worse by leaning forward while sitting. No menses for last 4 months. USG abdomen showed uterine polyps. She also had a peculiar sensitivity: whenever she killed an ant her eyes would itch a lot. She feels worse after eating mushrooms since the birth of her third child. She was feeling tired easily.
I considered giving her the chronic remedy which usually helps her. Hb=9.8 ESR=28. Prescription was China 200, 1 single dose
Follow up on 19th October 2021– This time patient presented with two complaints; first was relapse of trigeminal neuralgia in right side of mouth. Also, ailments from eating sour things and from mental overexertion.
Pain worse at night, worse by touch of tongue, worse by talking. There was a program in college in which she had be a moderator and she spent some sleepless nights in anticipation. Shifting pain come and disappear suddenly. Worse on beginning to speak, or when brushing teeth or also while eating.
She felt the need to move continuously. Wants to be alone only with her children and husband. Her disposition had changed from a usually very quiet, gentle, shy lady into an irritable person. She would go to bed late due to tension.
Her college authorities were harassing her and her husband for not taking Covid vaccinations. Both are teachers and were forced to do a RTPCR test every week. They were embarrassed by the higher authorities and threatened that their salary would be stopped.
She was not convinced about the concept of this vaccine because a number of people she knew had suffered side effects of vaccination. Her eldest son is a hydrocephalus child and if she suffers side effects after taking vaccine then her son will have to face the consequences.
Due to her son’s condition, she remains house bound. She is also embarrassed to go around with him because he gets very violent at times and beats both parents. Although this lady is only 50 years old, her hair is completely white making her look as if she is 70 years old.
Also the hearing impairment bothered her a lot during her classes as she could not listen to the queries of her students. She would feel very embarrassed. It was almost one year since she suffered from Covid and still the hearing impairment continued.
Her other complaint was numbness in her right hand, worse while writing. She would forget names of her favourite students which hadn’t happened before.
I reviewed the case thoroughly since a remedy like China that had helped her previously, had failed to register and effect a cure. I knew that this case needed a far deeper acting remedy and secondly that this medicine should cover hearing loss without organic disease.
I repertorised this case using the following Rubrics: 1) Ailments from embrarassment 2) Sleepless before midnight because of flood of thoughts.
I read materia medicas. Allen’s Keynotes: “ nerves “worn out”, after business embarrassments, unable to sleep.
Boger writes: early senility, symptoms suddenly change place, bashful so can’t have others present. Dunham says: complaints from excitement. Emotional in extreme. Intense people. Numbness of limb laid on. The more they think about their sensations the greater they become. Slow memory, slow comprehension. Confusion of mind in presence of strangers. Itching that is neurotic, meaning the more she scratched the more it itches. Dr Luc writes: Impaired hearing in elderly without any organic defect of the ear.
Oct 19, 2021 –Ambra Grisea 200 (indicated nosode), 1 single dose.
Follow up on 11th February 2022– After the remedy given on 19th October 2021 the right sided hearing impairment was completely gone. Shifting pain in jaw absent. Feels upper backache only if she carries a lot of weight. No remedy given.
This case teaches us how to perceive the whole phenomena (Aphorism 8 Organon of Medicine) otherwise we shall not be able to restore the sick to health.
Can profound sensorineural hearing loss be treated with Homeo.