Ginkgo for Child’s Tinnitus
Answered by: Susan Eagles
Question from: Name not given
Posted on: November 16, 1999

My 11 year old son suffered sudden hearing loss and tinnitus this past summer. He has been diagnosed with unexplained permanent hearing loss and tinnitus. I am interested in using gingko as a possible treatment of the tinnitus. My son is 11 and weighs 78 lbs. His ENT (Ear-Nose-Throat) doctor has said ginkgo would be okay to try but was not able to offer an appropriate dosage for his age. Do you have and data on dosage of ginkgo for children this age?

The German Commission E monographs, the official German government guide to herbs, states that Ginkgo is used for tinnitus that is caused by insufficient blood supply to the ears or involution. The adult dosage for this problem is 120 - 160 mg daily, taken in 2 or 3 doses. The herb concentration is 50:1 (50 parts herb to one part of extract material such as alcohol and water).

A child’s dosage is calculated using the formula: age divided by (age plus 12) multiplied by the adult dosage. For your son, that is 11 divided by 23 multiplied by 120 mg, which calculates to 57 mg daily.

It is important that your child remains under the care of his doctor, who can monitor the effects of this herb. Special care should be taken if your child is on any blood thinning drugs such as aspirin.

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