Hearing and Health

In my continuing quest for improved hearing, I scheduled an appointment with Dr. Jenny Rymer, an ND (Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine) in Jackson, Michigan, which is about an hour east of my home. My co-author, Debra Basham, and I had met Jenny previously at meetings of the International College of Integrative Medicine, and at a recent meeting in Columbus, Ohio, I asked her whether she might be able to do anything that would help improve my hearing. She said that she had a number of things she could do, so not long after I returned to Kalamazoo, I scheduled an appointment.

Although I have known NDs previously, I had not seen one professionally. Debra hadn’t seen Jenny professionally either and wanted to learn more about her processes and procedures, so she accompanied me on the hour-long drive through a hard-driving, November rain along I-94 from Kalamazoo to Jackson. It’s a good thing she did, because after about 90 minutes with Jenny, followed by lunch in Jackson, I was definitely too tired and sleepy to drive back safely. Debra drove while I slept. But more about that in a bit.

Assessment

I have to admit that I misremembered the time of my appointment. I was absolutely convinced that it was at 11 a.m., and because of the weather, we had left early to ensure an on-time arrival. In spite of the heavy rain, traffic was light, and we made good time. Once there, we checked and discovered that my appointment was actually at 11:30. We were an hour early. We went in anyway, and after a short wait, someone said, “We can start him on the machine.” I have seen a lot of science fiction movies, so I was very curious about “the machine.” The machine turned out to be a computer with special software and a device designed to read meridian energies in a hand. If you’re curious, you can read about the machine here: Zyto: The Global Leader in Biocommunication. Just as you might find in an episode of “Star Trek,” “the machine” accurately pinpointed a number of my health concerns, including those going back at least to my years in high school.

When Jenny came in to interview me, she asked questions based on the report from “the machine” and used muscle testing to confirm my responses. Although not well-accepted by allopathic medicine, Applied Kinesiology, often called “muscle testing,” can make a valuable contribution to assessment, especially when used by a skilled practitioner. Jenny is a skilled practitioner. I have been muscle-tested by skilled practitioners previously (see my blog on Adventures in Mesotherapy) and I’ve also been muscle-tested by the less skillful. Those less skillful tend to decide what they want the answer to be and then use force to confirm the answer they prefer. As with a lot of things, if muscle testing is forced, it doesn’t work.

After the initial assessment, Jenny introduced me to three more machines to see to what degree my hearing could be improved and which device would be most effective at improving it. She used one device to check my auditory nerve conduction and then compared two different forms of electro-magnetic intervention to see which would be more effective. One of the forms she tested was the PEMF device I commented on in a previous blog. The other device, the EFS-200 Pro, the “business end” of which looked like a giant lightbulb, proved more effective. I learned later that didn’t mean the PEMF device wasn’t effective but rather that I had a stronger response to the EFS-200 Pro.

In addition to running me through the “electro-magnetic spectrum,” Jenny provided me with a number of homeopathic and herbal remedies that would address problems with my biological functioning, including those that might be having a negative impact my hearing. NDs, like other holistic healers, consider body, mind, and spirit an integrated whole. When a part becomes problematic, rather than address only that part, they address the whole. They would pay particular attention to that part, but they believe that unless problems with the whole are addressed, the problem with the part will return.

When my session was over, Debra and I had lunch at a funky diner in Jackson before heading back. My trial runs with the devices left me feeling worn out, much the same way I feel after acupuncture. I was too “zoned out” to drive on the highway, so Debra drove us back to Kalamazoo while I slept. I have asked Leah Ke, my acupuncturist, why I “zone out” so quickly when I am on her table and am so groggy afterwards. She told me that is a function of how responsive I am to the energy of the treatment. Perhaps the same is true for all forms of “Energy Medicine.”

First Intervention

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The first intervention was a week after the assessment. Among other things, I spent time with the giant lightbulb. The EFS-200 Pro creates a “broad range of rapidly changing, analog (non-digital) resonance frequencies” in resonance with the bio-energetic patterns of the person using it. The technology was originally developed by Nikola Tesla, perhaps the greatest inventor in human history. The system is not considered medical in nature, but most hearing loss isn’t considered a medical problem, either.

Unlike heart disease or liver failure, which typically require surgery or pharmaceutical intervention, hearing loss is usually addressed with electro-mechanical devices called “hearing aids.” My sense was it was worth trying a bio-electrical approach to improving my auditory functioning. I had read the usage reports on hearing aids and was well aware that most people who purchase them stop using them within six months to a year. See “Why My Hearing Aids Are in the Drawer” for a comprehensive overview.

One of the problems with hearing loss is that it tends to “sneak up” on a person. Unlike loss of visual acuity, hearing loss isn’t immediately obvious. If we live alone, we turn the radio or TV a bit louder. When we’re with others, we say, “What?” with greater frequency. Hearing loss is usually gradual. By the time people become aware that their hearing isn’t as good as it should be, hearing loss can be extensive. The accepted theory is that the hair cells in the inner ear are damaged by exposure to loud noise and decline with age. My exploration of my own hearing loss suggests that’s not the whole story.

It’s true that I had been exposed to loud noises, including two summers of work with a jack hammer and a lot of rock & roll through headphones, but my father spent World War II as an artillery officer in the days before anyone used ear protection. He had no observable hearing loss well into his 80s—memory loss, yes; hearing loss, no. Also, from the first intervention through the variety of additional interventions I have received, I noticed that my hearing improved. Sometimes, it improved dramatically only to fall back with the passage of time. In a previous blog I mentioned in particular the dramatic improvement in my auditory acuity following a drive up and down the switch backs in the mountains of West Virginia. That experience completely convinced me that my hearing loss was not a “given,” but was rather something that could be addressed. While I love the mountains in West Virginia, I didn’t want to move there and drive them daily. I wanted a more convenient—and practical—solution.

Interventions Two and Three

As has been true previously, each intervention resulted in gains in hearing acuity. After the interventions, I have had moments when I am actually startled by how much better I am hearing. These moments have—so far, at least—been followed by a a decline in acuity. That’s the bad news. The good news is that my hearing seems to be improving incrementally. The gains are exceeding the losses. As long as I am making progress, I will go back for more, and I will report the results here. Better Hearing app for the iPhone. (Note: the analysis program is free, but the related hearing improvement app is not.) So I do not have a “clean” A-B comparison for any one intervention. There’s no way for me to tell for sure which intervention is having the greatest impact. From my perspective, that’s not important. What counts for me are the results.

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