The Philippine Society of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (PSO-HNS) is the officially recognized national organization of Ear, Nose, Throat – Head and Neck Surgeons (ENT) of the Philippine Medical Association. Its 700+ members are certified ENT specialists who undergo a rigorous 4-year residency training program accredited by the Philippine Board of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.
In recent times, there have been a lot of queries from patients and persons regarding advertisements/infomercials appearing online and social media, offering a “cure for hearing loss”, which can be performed at home.
PSO-HNS disclaims knowledge and does not support, approve or endorse such claims for “cures for hearing loss”.
PSO-HNS informs the public that hearing loss has several dimensions: conductive hearing loss (due to obstruction or pathology in the ear canal like ear wax and otitis externa, middle ear like otitis media) and sensorineural hearing loss (due to pathology in the cochlea or hearing organ, hearing nerve, and hearing area in the brain). Most conductive hearing loss may be reversible, and can be restored depending on the treatment of the cause; in contrast, sensorineural hearing loss is irreversible, except for acute insults like sudden sensorineural hearing loss where a percentage of patients may still recover in certain time periods, or amenable to steroid treatment, afterwhich may still become irreversible.
Any insinuation that a product may reverse, and at most cure hearing loss may be deemed not possible at the moment, in the light of current knowledge and evidence. For irreversible hearing loss, there are available solutions to augment hearing in patients with permanent partial hearing loss, and restore hearing function in patients with permanent total hearing loss (deafness), which include hearing aids, and various hearing implants like cochlear implants, respectively.
Presently, there is no available medicine or drug that has been scientifically proven to restore or cure hearing loss in general.
PSO-HNS advises the public to be vigilant in scrutinizing advertisements and infomercials and should seek the veracity of information posted in all forms of media. All members of PSO-HNS would be willing to answer questions on this matter and guide the public in the management of hearing problems.
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