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, involves the hearing restoration of a deaf janitor after spinal manipulation. (1) Fascinating! Today’s research reports help explain and confirm the connection of hearing and cervical spine pain issues. Back And Neck Care Center hears reports of improvement in Severna Park chiropractic patients for seemingly unrelated things that brought them into Back And Neck Care Center for chiropractic care. Patients are delighted! Back And Neck Care Center is excited for them. Let’s contemplate this side-effect of hearing loss recovery after chiropractic spinal manipulation.

THE HEARING AND CERVICAL SPINE CONNECTION

Hearing loss is not that rare with cervical spine problems. The connection of cervical spine and hearing has been presented in the medical literature for years and years. In 1994, one author gave 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) Severna Park chiropractic patients report such issues occasionally, so Back And Neck Care Center 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 cause 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 evidence of interaction between the somatosensory and auditory brainstem structures, a pathway connecting the cervical spine to hearing function. Researchers are seeking ways to describe the pathway and understand better how spinal nerves like those of C2 (the second cervical spine segment) influence auditory responses (hearing). They have discovered projections from C2 dorsal root ganglion stretching to the cochlear nucleus. (4) Patients who have Kimmerle’s anomaly – an anatomical modification of the first cervical segment (C1) – often experience 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. Back And Neck Care Center considers this when caring for Severna Park cervical spine pain patients who have a hearing loss or deficit.

CHIROPRACTIC HELP FOR Severna Park HEARING LOSS RELATED TO CERVICAL SPINE ISSUES

Since that first chiropractic adjustment in 1895, chiropractic has documented improvement for more patients with hearing issues. A study of 90 patients who experienced cervicogenic sudden hearing loss reported that those who underwent chiropractic treatment in addition to routine medical care recovered 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 having chiropractic spinal manipulation treatment. On a scale of 0 (no problem) to 10 (complete impairment), she graded her problems a 7 at the beginning of care and a 1 at the conclusion of 5 months of care. An audiogram was normal, too. (7) These are pleasing outcomes that Severna Park hearing loss patients could accept! Back And Neck Care Center is up for the opportunity to help!

CONSIDER Back And Neck Care Center FOR RELIEF

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

Schedule a Severna Park chiropractic visit to see how Back And Neck Care Center may help relieve cervical spine issues, neck pain and even possibly cervical spine related hearing loss.