Cervical Spine Related Hearing Loss and Neck Pain Relief with Chiropractic
The timeless story 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 reports help explain and corroborate the connection of hearing and cervical spine pain issues. Vancouver Disc Centers hears reports of improvement in Vancouver chiropractic patients for issues not always related to the issue that brought them into Vancouver Disc Centers for chiropractic care. Patients are elated! Vancouver Disc Centers is pleased for them. Let us study this side-effect of hearing loss improvement after chiropractic spinal manipulation.
THE HEARING AND CERVICAL SPINE CONNECTION
Hearing loss is not that rare with cervical spine problems. The association of cervical spine and hearing has been discussed in the medical publications for decades. In 1994, one author submitted a discussion 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 issues 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) Vancouver chiropractic patients recount such issues sometimes, so Vancouver Disc Centers 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 produce 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 common in men. (3) Further, there is indication of interaction between the somatosensory and auditory brainstem structures, a pathway joining the cervical spine to hearing function. Researchers are working 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 discovered projections from C2 dorsal root ganglion extending 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 say about the connection between hearing and the cervical spine? A connection. Vancouver Disc Centers considers this when caring for Vancouver cervical spine pain patients who have a hearing loss or deficit.
CHIROPRACTIC HELP FOR Vancouver 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 had cervicogenic sudden hearing loss reported that those who had chiropractic treatment in addition to routine medical care bettered their hearing and relieved their neck pain effectively after 10 days of care. (6) A case of hearing loss and tinnitus linked to 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 issues a 7 at the beginning of care and a 1 at the end of 5 months of care. An audiogram was normal, too. (7) These are pleasing outcomes that Vancouver hearing loss patients could accept! Vancouver Disc Centers is ready for the opportunity to help!
CONSIDER Vancouver Disc Centers FOR RELIEF
Listen to this PODCAST about how Cox Technic eases cervical spine related neck pain and shoulder pain.
Schedule a Vancouver chiropractic appointment to experience how Vancouver Disc Centers may help improve cervical spine issues, neck pain and even potentially cervical spine related hearing loss.
