Oils extracted from plants, including fruits and herbs, are essential oils. Lemon, peppermint, and lavender are common essential oils, but there are dozens, if not hundreds, of essential oils. They have been used for centuries to impart flavour or aroma to food and other products.
Numerous unregulated by the FDA online health claims regarding essential oils have been made. Similar to the markets for other well-known alternative therapies, such as CBD oil and homoeopathy, it is a buyer-beware market in the United States due to lax regulations.
Essential oils have limited clinical evidence of medical benefits, such as for treating hearing loss, tinnitus, vertigo, and ear infections. Use caution if you intend to treat any of these conditions with essential oils.
Cajeput oil, geranium oil, lavender oil, and tea tree oil may aid sensorineural hearing loss, while Helichrysum oil may aid both conductive and sensorineural hearing loss.
However, is there proof that these oils are effective? No, DiSogra explains in a separate review article for Audiology Today on essential oils and hearing loss, tinnitus, and vertigo. This suggests that few (if any) clinical studies have been conducted on these essential oils and that the majority of claims are either unfounded or based on self-reports.
The author maintains that audiologists should not suggest essential oils for hearing loss.
Tinnitus is the medical term for persistent ear ringing. DiSogra discovered unproven claims that cypress oil, ginseng oil, helichrysum oil, juniper oil, lavender oil, lilies oil, olive oil, onion oil, petitgrain oil, rehmannia oil, and spotted orchis oil could alleviate tinnitus.
In published medical literature, only lavender oil was associated with a health benefit, and that benefit was related to potential anti-inflammatory effects on the central nervous system, not tinnitus.
Di-Sogra discovered a variety of online health claims regarding essential oils and vertigo, including claims regarding basil oil, bergamot oil, bitter orange oil (neroli), CBD oil, clary sage oil, cypress oil, geranium oil, ginger oil, lavender oil, lemon balm oil, peppermint oil, rosemary oil, tangerine oil, and thyme oil. None of the treatments demonstrated clinical efficacy.
When searching for clinical trials and other medical studies, he found no evidence that any of these oils were effective at treating ear infections.
In general, essential oils are not acutely dangerous and, when used with care, are unlikely to cause irreversible damage.
If you are interested in trying any of these essential oils, you should apply them with care and be aware that improper application may cause skin reactions.
If you are interested in experimenting with essential oils, you should exercise caution and be aware that they pose risks.
"For example, cumin oil is safe for consumption but can cause skin blistering," explains Di Sogra. Certain citrus oils that are safe for use in food can be harmful when applied to sun-exposed skin as a cosmetic ingredient.
Moreover, certain essential oils can affect hormones and are therefore dangerous for pregnant or nursing women. Others might influence cardiovascular health.
Regarding ear ailments, he came across websites that recommended placing oils in the ear canal.
"However," he cautioned, "[essential oils] should never be placed in the ear canal because undiluted oil can burn the ear's sensitive mucous membranes."
Despite what you may read online, there is scant evidence that essential oils can assist with hearing issues. If researchers decide to investigate essential oils in greater depth, this may change.
Nonetheless, numerous effective treatments for hearing and balance disorders have been demonstrated since then. If you or a loved one requires hearing care, our directory of hearing clinics with consumer ratings is the next logical step.