Tuesday, March 31, 2009

OCD & The INNER EAR

Welcome to the allergy season. Usually every spring when the trees bud, I sneeze and my eyes itch and water for a few days. This year my allergies have been much worse then usual and I developed a sinus infection which went into both my ears. Besides feeling lousy physically, I also noticed mental changes, such as anxiety and stuck thoughts.

In my book I have a chapter about OCD & allergies in which Dr. Albert Robbins, wwwallergycenter.com - who is an allergist in Florida, says that there is a close relation between allergies and OCD and the co-existing conditions, such as tics and Tourette’s. I believe this is very true as I can see it in myself, and it think it’s worth mentioning this because some people may not be aware of this.

In researching I read that some patients in mental institutions who get treated for overlooked ear problems such as impacted wax and infections get discharged and are found to be completely cured. I found this online:

“Blame It on Your Ears
Just when you think that your phobia may be all in your mind, along comes Harold Levinson, M.D., who says it's not in your mind, it's actually located in your inner ear.
Dr. Levinson, a Great Neck, New York, psychiatrist and neurologist who is coauthor of the book Phobia Free, specializes in inner ear disorders. While treating his patients for inner ear problems, he began to notice other changes. "Not only did their inner ear problems improve, but so did their phobia problems," he says.
It was his unique background as both a psychiatrist and a neurologist that led him to this conclusion. "A significant number of my patients with inner ear problems also had phobias identical to the patients I was treating in my psychiatric practice."
After 20 years of research on more than 20,000 patients, Dr. Levinson believes that 90 percent of all phobic behavior is a result of an underlying malfunction within the inner ear system.
"The mechanisms in the inner ear are not functioning correctly," he explains. For example, balance is controlled in the inner ear. If it is not working correctly and your balance is off, you might be afraid of heights or falling or tripping.
Dr. Levinson acknowledges that his is the minority point of view. But thousands of success stories are nothing to snicker at. Dr. Levinson is convinced that a trip to an ear specialist is at least worth a try for those suffering from phobias.”
I hope this helps – have a great day!

1 comment:

Ole said...

I think this was really interesting, because I have OCD and for some reason I got problems with my left ear nearly exactly when I got the disorder. I don't think it was an inner ear infection, but some kind of dermatitis, and the doctor gave me a cream for it.