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Upper Cervical Chiropractic Treatment forTinnitus
What is Tinnitus?
Tinnitus is not a condition, but a common symptom of anunderlying condition that affects 1 in 5 people. Tinnitus creates afalse noise within the ear that comes from no external source. Thisfalse noise can sound like a ringing, whooshing, whistling,buzzing, humming, chirping, roaring, hissing, or evenshrieking.
The phantom noise may occur in one ear or both from “inside thehead” or from a distance. The sound can be constant or sporadic,steady or pulsating.
Although it is rare for tinnitus to be associated with goingdeaf or a serious medical problem, it can affect a person’severyday life and become an annoyance. The phantom noise fromtinnitus can seem “loud”, making it hard for the person to hearsomeone else over the noise. For children, it could deter theirfocus in school and become difficult for them to concentrate onlessons or their schoolwork.
About 10 percent of tinnitus cases result in interfering withthe patient’s daily life so much that they seek out professionalhelp. However, even if tinnitus is not drastically affecting yourdaily life, it is always good to mention having tinnitus to aprofessional if it lasts more than 24 hours or happens on occasionto see if they can help the underlying cause of your tinnitus so itdoes not worsen over time.
What Causes Tinnitus?
There are various causes of tinnitus. Some of the causes behindthe phantom noise include the following:
- Exposure to loud noise - After a concert,listening to a music device with high volume, or fun at a socialgathering, exposure to loud noise could cause tinnitus to occurshortly after. Having the ears “ring” and feeling as if the earsare clogged are common after loud noise exposure. Keep in mind,however, if a person is exposed to loud noises consistently, it canresult in permanent ear damage.
- Temporomandibular joint disorder- Temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ disorder) canbring the onset of tinnitus as the temporomandibular joint thatbecomes injured or inflamed is located on both sides of the head infront of each ear.
- Age-related hearing loss - As we age,hearing loss may occur – usually around the age of 60. Presbycusis,a common type of sensorineural hearing loss caused by the naturalaging of the auditory system, can include tinnitus as asymptom.
- Earwax blockage - Earwax protects the earcanal by slowing the growth of bacteria and trapping dirt. Too muchearwax can lead to blockage as it becomes harder for it tonaturally wash away. When a blockage occurs, hearing loss orirritation can occur which may lead to tinnitus.
- Meniere’s disease - This inner eardisorder can be caused by abnormal fluid pressure in the inner earand tinnitus can be an early sign of having Meniere’s disease.
- Inner ear cell damage - Tiny hairs inyour ear move with the pressure of sound waves that cause ear cellsto respond by releasing electrical signals through the auditorynerve to your brain. These signals are interpreted by the brain assounds; however, if these hairs inside of the inner ear are damagedit could lead to random electrical signals to be “leaked” to thebrain. These random electrical signals lead to the occurrence ofphantom noises.
- Head or neck injury - There is apossibility that head trauma or neck trauma can affect the innerear, hearing nerves, or brain function that is linked to yourhearing. Injuries to the head or neck can cause tinnitus to developin one ear.
- Acoustic neuroma - Acoustic neuroma is anoncancerous tumor that can cause tinnitus in one ear. It developson the cranial nerve running from the brain to the inner ear.
How Can Tinnitus be Treated?
There are various ways to treat tinnitus from earwax removal tomedication and surgery. Below is a list of the most common tinnitustreatments:
- Earwax removal - Removing impactedearwax helps reduce tinnitus symptoms.
- Treating blood vesselcondition - Sometimes an underlying vascularcondition can cause tinnitus. To help treat the blood vesselcondition it may require medication, surgery, or a differenttreatment.
- Medication - Some medications cancause tinnitus and a change of medication or a reduction of themedication taken may help. Keep in mind, medication cannot curetinnitus and only helps reduce it. All medication comes with sideeffects as well and although tinnitus symptoms are reduced thepatient can experience drowsiness and nausea or form a habit oftaking the medication consistently.
- Noise Suppression - This uses whitenoise to help make the phantom noises of tinnitus less bothersome.While it does not help get rid of tinnitus, it does help those withtinnitus sleep at night. Wearable devices are available forpatients as well and are individually programmed to cover thefrequencies you hear. The goal of the wearable device is to get thepatient used to the phantom noises to where they no longer focus onthem.
The above treatments for tinnitus are not guaranteed to get ridof tinnitus and instead of focusing on the underlying cause oftinnitus, the treatments focus on tinnitus symptoms. If you arelooking for an all-natural treatment that focuses on tackling theunderlying cause of tinnitus, upper cervical adjustments may bewhat you need.
How Does an Upper Cervical Treatment for TinnitusWork?
Upper cervical treatments for tinnitus work by making smalladjustments to the upper cervical spine (located right beneath thebase of the skull). These adjustments release any pressure placedonto the brain stem caused by a misalignment as an upper cervicalmisalignment can interfere with the signals traveling back andforth from the body to the brain.
When these signals are interfered with, the body will be unableto heal and repair itself properly and could lead to the bodyattacking healthy cells rather than foreign invaders. When the bodyis unable to function properly due to mixed signals, small thingssuch as natural drainage within the ears are affected and theplacement of the bone around the ears may shift in response to themisalignment – causing other ear problems to occur with tinnitus asa symptom.
Small, precise upper cervical adjustments focus on the health ofour brain stem to ensure our body can function properly. Patientshave reported improvements in their current conditions in as littleas one adjustment. This is because as soon as a correction is made,the brain to body communication is restored and the body begins toheal and repair as soon as it can.
The goal of an upper cervical chiropractor is to make feweradjustments over time until the upper cervical area becomes strongenough to hold the alignment on its own.
If you or a loved one is experiencing tinnitus and are lookingfor a natural treatment, upper cervical adjustments can help treattinnitus even after surgery or medication due to giving back thebody’s ability to pinpoint and correct underlying causes of painand conditions.
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