Cervical Spine Related Hearing Loss and Neck Pain Relief with Chiropractic

The traditional account of the first chiropractic adjustment by DD Palmer, the founder of chiropractic, details the hearing return of a deaf janitor after spinal manipulation. (1) Fascinating! Today’s research studies help explain and confirm the connection of hearing and cervical spine pain issues. OrthoIllinois Chiropractic hears reports of improvement in McHenry chiropractic patients for issues not always related to the issue that brought them into OrthoIllinois Chiropractic for chiropractic care. Patients are thrilled! OrthoIllinois Chiropractic is excited for them. Let us reflect on this side-effect of hearing loss improvement after chiropractic spinal manipulation.

THE HEARING AND CERVICAL SPINE CONNECTION

Hearing loss is not that uncommon with cervical spine issues. The relationship of cervical spine and hearing has been presented in the medical literature for years and years. In 1994, one author submitted an idea of the existence of a “vertebragenic hearing disorder” that comes with tinnitus, a feeling of ear pressure, otalgia and deafness due to functional deficit of the upper cervical spine. He tied conditions like cervical vertigo and hearing disorders in 15% of patients with cervical spine issues and hearing losses of 5 to 25 decibels in 40% of them. (2) McHenry chiropractic patients recount such issues sometimes, so OrthoIllinois Chiropractic is not surprised at all.

Cervical spine issues can affect ear vessels and/or nerves resulting in hearing loss, vertigo or tinnitus. Cervical spine injuries can trigger pain and limits in range of motion. The chance of hearing loss in patients with limited left rotation ability is high. Such hearing loss after a cervical spine injury is more usual in men. (3) Further, there is indication of interaction between the somatosensory and auditory brainstem structures, a pathway connecting the cervical spine to hearing function. Researchers are seeking ways to define the pathway and understand better how spinal nerves like those of C2 (the second cervical spine segment) influence auditory responses (hearing). They have found projections from C2 dorsal root ganglion stretching to the cochlear nucleus. (4) Patients who have Kimmerle’s anomaly – an anatomical variant of the first cervical segment (C1) – often have chronic tension-type headaches and neurosensory-type hearing loss. (5) What does this indicate about the connection between hearing and the cervical spine? A connection. OrthoIllinois Chiropractic considers this when treating McHenry cervical spine pain patients who have a hearing loss or deficit.

CHIROPRACTIC HELP FOR McHenry HEARING LOSS RELATED TO CERVICAL SPINE ISSUES

Since that first chiropractic adjustment in 1895, chiropractic has documented improvement for more cases of hearing issues. A study of 90 patients who had cervicogenic sudden hearing loss reported that those who had chiropractic treatment in addition to routine medical care bettered their hearing and eased their neck pain effectively after 10 days of care. (6) A case of hearing loss and tinnitus associated with cervicogenic neck pain in a female patient whose hearing and tinnitus were improved after undergoing chiropractic spinal manipulation treatment. On a scale of 0 (no problem) to 10 (complete impairment), she graded her problems a 7 at the start of care and a 1 at the conclusion of 5 months of care. An audiogram was normal, too. (7) These are satisfying outcomes that McHenry hearing loss patients could accept! OrthoIllinois Chiropractic is up for the chance to help!

CONSIDER OrthoIllinois Chiropractic FOR RELIEF

Listen to this PODCAST about how Cox Technic alleviates cervical spine related neck pain and shoulder pain.

Schedule a McHenry chiropractic visit to see how OrthoIllinois Chiropractic may help improve cervical spine issues, neck pain and even potentially cervical spine related hearing loss.