A Doctor on Vacation: Diagnosing Disease Wherever She Goes

By Dena Rifkin, MD

As I prepared for a vacation recently, I realized that it’s getting harder and harder to really “check out” of any kind of job these days. The ubiquitousness of BlackBerries, Wi-Fi, cell phones, and other devices designed to keep us forever in touch with each other make it impossible to really escape. As a doctor, I face an added difficulty in taking a break from my work—the inescapable urge to diagnose disease in random passersby. Read More

Wireless Devices Will Save Diabetics’ Lives

By Sean Kelley

I’m a complete gadget geek. (I built my first computer in the 1970s—when I was 5. My first “laptop” experience was just 10 years later with a hulking device that actually had a phone-cradle modem.)

I’m also a diabetic, and I’ve played with a lot of the gadgets aimed at type 2s like me. It hasn’t always been much fun: In 1999, when I was diagnosed, I was shocked by the poor design of the products. The glucose monitors were clunky, inaccurate, and hard to configure. Most came with a vial of solution and code numbers that had to be plugged in to obtain a proper reading. Only a couple of expensive models could connect to a computer, and those required custom software. Read More

How Doctors Learn From Patients

By Dena Rifkin, MD
I need to learn a new technique for inserting a large intravenous line. As a resident, I learned how to place these lines (used for medications and dialysis) in the groin or neck by locating the arterial pulse with my fingers, looking at the anatomical landmarks nearby, and then calculating in my mind where the vein ought to be. After a while I could reliably get a needle into the vein by ‘feel.’

Since then, a bedside ultrasound device has become part of the procedure, allowing you to actually ‘see’ the vein you are aiming for—a pretty amazing difference from the way I learned. I’m told it’s awkward the first few times you try it, since you have to juggle the ultrasound and the needle while keeping everything sterile. So, I asked my colleagues to teach me.
Read More

The Soaring Cost of Dental Care Is Nothing to Smile About

Let’s drill down into why it’s so expensive to have a healthy mouth
by Amy O'Connor

This is me holding my $1,200 crown (it recently popped out, hence this blog), my husband’s $450 mouth guard, and the retainer I have worn since I was a teenager.

Notice that I am not smiling. We spend far more on dental care and devices than we do on doctors, and it’s getting more expensive as we get older. Continue reading »

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New Stroke Therapies Show Promise

(HealthDay News) -- Several new studies point to the promise of new ways to treat different types of stroke.

The research was presented during a teleconference Friday at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference in New Orleans.

The first trial found some benefit when tPA, the only approved therapy for acute ischemic stroke, was given outside the usual three-hour treatment window. Patients in this Australian trial who were given tPA three to six hours after having a stroke had increased restoration of blood flow and a smaller area of the brain was deprived of blood. The study was expected to be published in the April issue of The Lancet Neurology, but was released Friday to coincide with the meeting presentation.

Ischemic stroke involves an obstruction in one of the vessels supplying blood to the brain. Currently, "clot busters" are only considered effective for the first three hours after a stroke.

"The issue is that we've got a three-hour label, and can we extend that to six hours," said study author Dr. Stephen M. Davis, of Royal Melbourne Hospital. "Based on our results, it gives a lot of encouragement that you can enrich that population. A lot of people arrive too late, and these are ones we would be targeting."

The findings are enough to warrant further trials but not to change current clinical guidelines just yet.

"This should be viewed as very encouraging, as an intermediate step that's leading to the formation hopefully of a larger study that can be more definitive and that could impact our guidelines significantly," said Dr. Philip Gorelick, moderator of the teleconference and head of the department of neurology and rehabilitation at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

A second study looked at patients in China, South Korea and Australia with acute cerebral hemorrhage, the most serious form of stroke.

"High blood pressure is a cause of intercerebral hemorrhage and is also very common at [the] acute state, and we don't know what to do about it," said study author Dr. Craig Anderson, from the University of Sydney in Australia. "We believe that having high blood pressure causes extra bleeding and expansion of blood in the brain. If we can bring blood pressure down, we may be able to arrest bleeding in the brain and bring it under control."

In fact, intensive lowering of blood pressure arrested about half a teaspoon of blood and, Anderson said, "in real life, it might have a bigger treatment effect."

Again, the authors hope the findings will lead to funding for larger trials.

A third trial found that reducing blood pressure in the 60 percent to 70 percent of patients who have elevated levels following acute stroke resulted in reduced dysphasia (communication problems) and some mortality benefits.

"These are very small numbers, and I don't want to hang too much on those results, but I think it's very encouraging, so we can probably go forward and do a much larger phase 3 study," said British study author Dr. John Potter.

For now, Gorelick said, "we continue to recommend that physicians follow American Heart Association/American Stroke Association guidelines. The blood pressure [issue] has not been resolved, and there are important questions of what to do with blood pressure. . . [although] it would be nice to have a definitive plan here and get people on blood pressure-lowering medicine."

Other studies being presented at the conference found that:

• The recently approved Penumbra device, a "vacuum cleaner" which sucks clots out of the brain, was effective for eight hours after the onset of a stroke, adding five hours to a patient's treatment window.
• Aricept (donepezil) improved several measures of executive function and processing speed in patients with a subcortical form of vascular dementia but did not improve overall cognitive scores, according to researchers from the University of Muenchen in Muenchen, Germany.
• Certain chromosomal regions may harbor genes important in assessing individuals at risk for aneurysms. "This is a critical first step if you want to find genes," said study author Dr. Tatiana Foroud, of Medical & Molecular Genetics in Indianapolis. "The ultimate goal is a genetic test to identify individuals at higher risk for aneurysm, and those individuals could have targeted and more costly screening pursued on a regular basis."

More information
Visit the American Stroke Association for more on different types of stroke.

GPS Devices Measure Severity of Peripheral Artery Disease

(HealthDay News) -- The same device that keeps you from getting lost while driving in your car might also give doctors a way to determine the severity of peripheral artery disease (PAD) in patients, French researchers suggest.

People with PAD have clogged leg arteries that cause them severe pain when they walk. In this study, the researchers used Global Positioning System (GPS) devices and a computer spreadsheet to trace and analyze the maximal walking distance (MWD) of 24 PAD patients as they strolled through a public park. MWD is the maximum distance a PAD patient can walk at a normal pace on a flat surface before leg pain forces them to stop.

Currently, a treadmill test is the standard method of determining MWD. However, treadmill assessments are time-consuming, have to be done in vascular laboratories, and may not provide an accurate estimation of MWD or PAD-related disability.

"We found that MWD obtained at a person's usual pace is largely superior to the MWD measured on a treadmill. GPS may allow for a more objective measurement of walking capacity in patients with PAD," study senior author Dr. Pierre Abraham, a physician at the vascular investigation laboratory at University Hospital in Angers, France, said in a prepared statement.

"Patients often report their walking capacity varies from one day to another and also varies from one moment to another within a single stroll," Abraham said.

"GPS allows for the analysis of the distanced walked, of course, but also the speed, duration of resting, and the number of walking bouts over a prolonged recording period," he noted.

However, GPS can't entirely replace treadmills for measuring MWD, Abraham added. That's because treadmill tests are standardized and simultaneously record multiple measurements, such as blood pressure, oxygen consumption and heart rate. In addition, not all PAD patients can do the outdoor GPS test.

PAD affects about 8 million Americans, and people with the vessel disease face a four to five times greater risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.

The study is published in the current issue of Circulation.

More information
The Society for Vascular Surgery has more about peripheral artery disease.

Exercise Key to Seniors' Independence: Study

(HealthDay News) -- Structured exercise programs can help keep sedentary seniors from losing their independence, new research shows.

"Compared with those who received health education [only], participants in the physical activity group had a lower risk of becoming unable to walk 400 meters," or about a quarter-mile, said lead researcher Dr. Marco Pahor of the University of Florida, Gainesville.

The study, conducted at four centers across the United States, also found it's largely safe for many older adults to start a moderate exercise program.

The study was funded by the U.S. National Institute on Aging (NIA) and included 424 people, ages 70 to 89, who exercised less than 20 minutes a week and had low scores on three physical performance assessments -- walking speed, balance and the ability to get out of chair. They also had to walk 400 meters (about a quarter of a mile) within 15 minutes without sitting or using a cane or any other kind of assistive device.

Half the participants were assigned to a control group that took part in a "successful aging" health-education program that offered information about nutrition, foot care, medications, preventive services, and other health topics. It also included arm-and-shoulder flexibility exercises led by an instructor.

The other participants were enrolled in an exercise program that included individualized counseling and supervised and home-based exercises that focused on areas such as endurance, strengthening, flexibility and balance.

After 6 months and 12 months, seniors in the exercise group had significantly higher physical performance scores than those in the control group and were more likely to maintain their walking speed through the 400-meter walking test.

The findings, published in the November issue of the Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences, were to be presented Friday at a meeting of the Gerontological Society of America.
The researchers said their findings from this pilot study confirm the feasibility and safety of testing this kind of exercise program in a larger study.

"As U.S. life expectancy rises, functional decline and disability among older people are growing public health and clinical concerns," Dr. Richard J. Hodes, NIA director, said in a prepared statement.

"This pilot study helps us to understand better the relationship between exercise training and mobility, which is a key to maintaining older adults' independence and quality of life, and provides a basis for designing more definitive large-scale clinical trials," Hodes said.

More information
The American Medical Association has more about fitness for older adults.

Scanner instantly checks for present state of health

A woman with headphones sits by a desk where a physician is examining her. As she listens to the beeps, her eyes fall on a computer screen where the graphics of internal organs appear constantly, each of which has a number of signs painted in several colours, indicating the condition it is in.

For the health conscious, here comes the new alternative treatment that will allow health-concerned persons to get checked and scanned whole body without need to contact with all types of chemical substances or radiation.

A team of Russian scientists has developed this piece of equipment using Molecular Resonance Imaging Technology (MRIT). The machine sends out a high-amplitude vibration to the body to find out how much energy a cell has in store.

Orion, the result of a 10-year-long research effort, aimed to make a rapid medical screening check up but also to help support medical diagnostic and deliver what is called in early warning detection and early prevention of future diseases specifically.

The gadget applies theories of quantum entropy logic and molecular imaging to analyse, evaluate and balance the biological system at the molecular level. What’s more, it combines cutting-edge technology with holistic and conventional medicine.

“Not only can we find out what you ate or drank last but also if your organs are functioning as well as they should be,” said Marina Lobova, managing director of Meta Med Co Ltd.

The device comes with bio-sensor headphones with built-in MRIT wave scanner, an infrared camera and the MRIT main board processor, apart from the embedded Orion software. Once vibrations from the bio-scanner reach the target cells, signals go straight to the microchip on the main board. There, the signals are encoded before comparing them with the results stored in the machine database.

When decoded, the energy status of the body cells is displayed on the computer screen where a colour-coded reproduction of the organ pops up.

Lobova said six colours are used to denote six levels of well-being. White indicates that the organ is functionally normally, yellow denotes that the cells are doing their best, orange means they are under stress. Maroon shows that overwork has weakened the cells, brown indicates they are about to call in sick, and black suggests that medical attention is needed.

Once the problems have been determined, Orion sends a combination of balanced electromagnetic signals to the body.

This treatment can effectively root out pain, heart and lung ailments, and the chronic fatigue syndrome, besides preventing disorders.

Since the machine collects information over many sessions, the doctor is able to know how much has taken place in the body in the interim period.

Lobova said the body scan takes between five and 20 minutes, depending on the person’s age and level of general health. She said the machine is safe for infants, children and pregnant women since it does not give off radiation, nuclear magnetic resonance or any other harmful energies.

Yaowapa Dhachalupat, department manager of B Grimm Healthcare’s medical engineering division, the firm that markets Orion, said other than full-body scans, patients can also ask for organ-specific examinations.

“With Orion, there is no need to take a blood sample to the lab to be tested. Without any painful needle prick, the machine will tell you which organ or part of your body is playing up,” she said.

Suchalee Pongprasert
The Nation

Definitions of types of complementary and alternative therapies

Definitions of types of complementary and alternative therapies
Here is a definition of the types of the most common complementary and alternative therapies

Acupuncture
("AK-yoo-pungk-cher") is a method of healing developed in China at least 2,000 years ago. Today, acupuncture describes a family of procedures involving stimulation of anatomical points on the body by a variety of techniques. American practices of acupuncture incorporate medical traditions from China, Japan, Korea, and other countries. The acupuncture technique that has been most studied scientifically involves penetrating the skin with thin, solid, metallic needles that are manipulated by the hands or by electrical stimulation.

Aromatherapy
("ah-roam-uh-THER-ah-py"): involves the use of essential oils (extracts or essences) from flowers, herbs, and trees to promote health and well-being. >

Ayurveda
("ah-yur-VAY-dah") is a CAM alternative medical system that has been practiced primarily in the Indian subcontinent for 5,000 years. Ayurveda includes diet and herbal remedies and emphasizes the use of body, mind, and spirit in disease prevention and treatment.

Chiropractic
("kie-roh-PRAC-tic") is a CAM alternative medical system. It focuses on the relationship between bodily structure (primarily that of the spine) and function, and how that relationship affects the preservation and restoration of health. Chiropractors use manipulative therapy as an integral treatment tool. Dietary supplements. Congress defined the term "dietary supplement" in the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994. A dietary supplement is a product (other than tobacco) taken by mouth that contains a "dietary ingredient" intended to supplement the diet. Dietary ingredients may include vitamins, minerals, herbs or other botanicals, amino acids, and substances such as enzymes, organ tissues, and metabolites. Dietary supplements come in many forms, including extracts, concentrates, tablets, capsules, gel caps, liquids, and powders. They have special requirements for labeling. Under DSHEA, dietary supplements are considered foods, not drugs.

Electromagnetic fields
(EMFs, also called electric and magnetic fields) are invisible lines of force that surround all electrical devices. The Earth also produces EMFs; electric fields are produced when there is thunderstorm activity, and magnetic fields are believed to be produced by electric currents flowing at the Earth's core.

Homeopathic
("home-ee-oh-PATH-ic") medicine is a CAM alternative medical system. In homeopathic medicine, there is a belief that "like cures like," meaning that small, highly diluted quantities of medicinal substances are given to cure symptoms, when the same substances given at higher or more concentrated doses would actually cause those symptoms.

Massage
("muh-SAHJ") therapists manipulate muscle and connective tissue to enhance function of those tissues and promote relaxation and well-being.

Naturopathic
("nay-chur-o-PATH-ic") medicine, or naturopathy, is a CAM alternative medical system. Naturopathic medicine proposes that there is a healing power in the body that establishes, maintains, and restores health. Practitioners work with the patient with a goal of supporting this power, through treatments such as nutrition and lifestyle counseling, dietary supplements, medicinal plants, exercise, homeopathy, and treatments from traditional Chinese medicine.

Osteopathic
("ahs-tee-oh-PATH-ic") medicine is a form of conventional medicine that, in part, emphasizes diseases arising in the musculoskeletal system. There is an underlying belief that all of the body's systems work together, and disturbances in one system may affect function elsewhere in the body. Some osteopathic physicians practice osteopathic manipulation, a full-body system of hands-on techniques to alleviate pain, restore function, and promote health and well-being.

Qi gong
("chee-GUNG") is a component of traditional Chinese medicine that combines movement, meditation, and regulation of breathing to enhance the flow of qi (an ancient term given to what is believed to be vital energy) in the body, improve blood circulation, and enhance immune function.

Reiki
("RAY-kee") is a Japanese word representing Universal Life Energy. Reiki is based on the belief that when spiritual energy is channeled through a Reiki practitioner, the patient's spirit is healed, which in turn heals the physical body.Therapeutic TouchThis is derived from an ancient technique called laying-on of hands. It is based on the premise that it is the healing force of the therapist that affects the patient's recovery; healing is promoted when the body's energies are in balance; and, by passing their hands over the patient, healers can identify energy imbalances.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)
This is the current name for an ancient system of health care from China. TCM is based on a concept of balanced qi (pronounced "chee"), or vital energy, that is believed to flow throughout the body. Qi is proposed to regulate a person's spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical balance and to be influenced by the opposing forces of yin (negative energy) and yang (positive energy). Disease is proposed to result from the flow of qi being disrupted and yin and yang becoming imbalanced. Among the components of TCM are herbal and nutritional therapy, restorative physical exercises, meditation, acupuncture, and remedial massage.

NCCAM, National Institutes of Health
Bethesda, Maryland 20892 USA
E-mail: info@nccam.nih.gov

Pelvic Prolapse Problems?

Pelvic Prolapse Problems?
Provided by: DrWeil.com

Q: I was recently diagnosed with uterine prolapse. Doctors say there is nothing I can do, but live with it or have a hysterectomy. My uterus is healthy, just in the wrong place. Is there anything I can do to make the ligaments that support my uterus strong again? -- Laurie A: Uterine prolapse is a very common problem that occurs when the ligaments and muscles that normally hold the uterus in place are stretched or damaged, usually by pregnancy or childbirth. As a result, the uterus drops down into the vagina. The same problem can affect the bladder (a condition called cystocele or anterior wall prolapse), the rectum (rectocele), and the top of the vagina or vaginal vault. Symptoms include a feeling of pelvic heaviness or fullness or a sense that something is falling out of the vagina (or, in the case of a rectocele, difficulty having bowel movements). You also may feel a pulling or aching in the lower abdomen or pelvis. If you have a prolapsed bladder, you may experience urine leakage when you cough, sneeze, lift heavy objects or exercise. In severe cases the uterus (or bladder) bulges into the vagina and may even protrude from the vaginal opening.
Mild cases of uterine (or bladder) prolapse don't require treatment. More bothersome cases can sometimes be helped by taking one or more of the following measures:
Cut down or avoid caffeine, which acts as a diuretic and may worsen problems with urine leakage.
Use a vaginal pessary, a plastic device that can be inserted into the vagina to support the pelvic organs. You must remove the pessary periodically to clean it but otherwise you can wear it continuously, even during sex.
Try Kegel exercises, which can strengthen the muscles surrounding the openings of the urethra and vagina.
If these measures don't help, I'm afraid the only remaining option is surgery. Hysterectomy has long been the most commonly performed operation for these problems, but pelvic support surgery, which puts the sagging organs back in place, is also done. Your gynecologist can assess whether you're a candidate or refer you to a specialist (urogynecologist) who performs these operations.
Andrew Weil, MD
Last Reviewed: July 2005

Fighting the Need to Nap?

Fighting the Need to Nap?
Provided by: DrWeil.com

Q: I'm 59 and am now working at home. I've developed the habit of taking brief naps in the afternoon. I would never do this at the office. And while I feel better after napping, I worry that it isn't a good thing to do. Your thoughts? -- Peter A: I happen to be a big fan of napping. Like you, I used to worry about the need to nap and fight off the impulse when I had work to do, but I've since learned that people who nap generally enjoy better mental health and mental efficiency than people who don't nap. They also sleep better at night. Now, if I feel the need to nap and have the opportunity, I just take one and usually wake up after 10 or 20 minutes feeling refreshed.
Napping is healthy because it allows us to rest, something we rarely get a chance to do in today's increasingly hectic working world. Wherever we go, we're bombarded with information. Television monitors appear to be everywhere making it difficult to tune out and allow yourself some moments of rest, or just to distance yourself briefly from your surroundings and responsibilities.
All our labor-saving devices have actually reduced - not enhanced - our opportunities for leisure and rest. Even on vacation, many people can't get away from email or escape the ringing of their cell phones. We're missing out on a lot by not taking time to step away from all the chatter and clatter of modern life.
In my new book, Healthy Aging: A Lifelong Guide to Your Physical and Spiritual Well-Being, I recommend making a habit of taking an afternoon nap for 10 to 20 minutes, preferably lying down in a darkened room. Finding the opportunity to rest is important too. Try to fit some rest into your day - carve out some time to be passive, without stimulation, doing nothing. It'll do you good.
Andrew Weil, MD
Last Reviewed: October 2005

Forearm Support May Cut Computer Injuries

FRIDAY, April 28 (HealthDay News) -- An "ergonomic board" that provides forearm support may relieve upper body pain and disorders that can develop from spending extended hours on a computer, a new study suggests.
The device, a board that attaches to a desk and supports the forearm, lowered the risk of developing shoulder and neck problems by nearly half and significantly reduced neck, shoulder and right arm pain associated with computer work.
"Computer-related injuries mainly occur in the neck and shoulder region. The elbow and wrist are the second most common area," explained study lead author Dr. David Rempel, professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. "This study, done in people who spend 30 to 40 hours a week in front of a computer, found that a forearm support can prevent some of these injuries and decrease pain."
The findings appear in the current issue of the British journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
For the study, researchers evaluated the impact of two ergonomic devices on the severity and incidence of these computer-related injuries. They monitored 182 employees from two customer-service center sites for one year. The employees were randomly put into one of four groups, each receiving a different "ergonomic intervention." One group received ergonomic training; a second got the training plus a trackball mouse; a third group received the training plus forearm support; and the fourth received the training plus a trackball mouse and forearm support.
Each week the participants filled out a questionnaire, which included assessing pain in the neck, shoulders and left and right arms on a scale of 0 to 10; physicians also diagnosed any new upper body musculoskeletal disorders that developed.
The result: The forearm support boards plus ergonomic training provided the most protection against computer-related injuries. Specifically, the boards reduced the risk of neck and shoulder disorders by nearly half, compared to the group that only received ergonomic training, and resulted in an average 0.5 point drop (on the 10-point scale) in neck and shoulder pain. This may be a small drop, Rempel said, but it could be significant in a large population, said Rempel. The number of arm disorders didn't change with forearm support use, but pain in the right arm dropped by nearly three-quarters of a point, he said.
"The forearm support probably reduced the shoulder load so that the neck and shoulder weren't doing as much work. Also, it probably kept the wrist in a more straight and neutral position," he said.
Use of the trackball had mixed results. It significantly reduced left upper extremity pain and disorders, but had no effect on right upper extremity disorders. These findings were unexpected, the researchers said, since 98 percent of the participants used the mouse with their right hand.
The researchers also did a return-on-investment analysis to see if the forearm support would make financial sense to employers. The average cost per board is around $100, said Rempel. The study found that employers would recover these costs within about 10 months of purchasing the boards.
Dr. Mark Melhorn, a clinical assistant professor at the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita, said, "It is reasonable to make a small investment in an arm or wrist rest if it makes the user feel comfortable. The cost associated with muscle pain can be high and the intervention cost is low."
The study also recommended other ergonomic measures to help relieve computer-related injuries. These include maintaining an erect sitting posture; a chair height that allows the thighs to be parallel to the floor; adjusting the arm support and work surface height so the forearms are parallel to the floor; a mouse and keyboard location that minimizes reach; adjusting the monitor height so its center is about 15 degrees below the visual horizon; and taking scheduled breaks.
Melhorn added that such steps are only half the solution, though, since people develop musculoskeletal disorders and muscle pain due to a combination of individual risk factors, such as age, gender and genetics, and their physical activity at home and in the workplace.
"If you take 100 people and put them in front of a computer, only 14 percent will develop muscle pain," he said. "If just the job caused these injuries, then 100 percent would have the muscle-pain condition. So you need to improve the person and the workplace. This study only addresses a small spectrum of these causes, but it's a good start in the right direction."
More information
For more on how to make your computer workstation safe and comfortable, visit the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Ask the Experts:How Can I Stop That Ringing In My Ears?

Naturopath Tinnitus is often caused by inflammation of the inner ear, the center for hearing and balance. The primary symptom is ringing in the ear--the same kind of high-pitched hum or tone you'd hear after standing near a speaker at a concert.

Inflammation increases lymphatic fluid in the inner ear, raising the inner-ear pressure and causing stimulation to the auditory nerve, which the brain interprets as sound. To reduce inflammation, try herbal anti-inflammatories like curcumin, devil's claw, or bromelain in tea, tincture, or capsule form.

Decreasing the fluid level with diuretics can also help ease tinnitus symptoms. One of my favorite diuretics is corn silk: Husk an ear of organic corn, roll the silk into a golf ball-sized wad and place it in 2 cups of water, then let it steep for about 10 minutes; mix the water with an equal portion of your favorite herbal tea, and drink. --Evan Fleischmann, N.D., West Milford, N.J.-based spokesman for the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians Otolaryngologist A variety of treatments can be used for tinnitus, but no single approach works for everyone.

One of the most common is counseling--not to get rid of the sound, but to understand and cope with the tinnitus. This usually involves behavior modification therapy, which teaches relaxation techniques to help eliminate the anxiety that many people experience as a result of the condition. It's best to consult a psychologist specifically trained in tinnitus. There are machines that can replicate the sound you're hearing to distract you from the noise in your head.

These include hearing aid-like apparatuses and tabletop white-noise devices. To prevent tinnitus, avoid exposure to loud noises. Also limit the amount of products you take containing aspirin, since aspirin may worsen symptoms. Caffeine is a stimulant and irritant to hearing cells, so you should avoid it as well. --Cindy Go, M.D., Ph.D., spokeswoman for the American Academy of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery Dietitian Multiple studies have linked tinnitus to high levels of insulin in the blood, so try following a diabetic diet: Cut calories to maintain your ideal body weight, and get 50 percent of your calories from carbohydrates, 30 percent from fat, and 20 percent from protein at every meal.

Tinnitus is a component of Meniere's disease, a condition that includes vertigo and fluctuating hearing loss. In one study, long-term management of Meniere's included a diet avoiding all processed foods and limiting daily salt intake to about 1 gram. Enhance food flavors with lemon juice, herbs, and spices instead. Research shows that elevated blood fats may cause inner-ear malfunction. Follow a low-fat diet by avoiding fatty meats, high-fat cheeses, fried foods, and commercially baked foods. And remember: Just because a product has no trans fat doesn't mean it's low in fat. --
Christine Gerbstadt, M.D., R.D., spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association

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