Can a chiropractor help with Tinnitus? Can a simple ear adjustment for tinnitus put an end to your misery and anxiety? The answer is both yes and no. A chiropractor may be able to help you with your Tinnitus, if it was caused by certain very specific conditions. Let’s look at what those are.
Chiropractor Tinnitus Treatment – When Can It Work?
A chiropractor may be able to relieve you of your Tinnitus symptoms if your Tinnitus is caused by any one of the following conditions.
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When you suffer from a TMJ Disorder
TMJ stands for the temporomandibular joint. The joint basically connects your jaw to your skull. Misalignment of this joint can cause a variety of symptoms, one of which is tinnitus. If you suffer from a TMJ disorder, you will typically experience the following symptoms;
- A painful jaw
- Ringing in the ears (Tinnitus)
- Pain around the ears
- Trouble swallowing and chewing
- Possible facial pain
- A jaw that locks from time to time
-
Ménière Disease that responds to spinal manipulation (See case study)
Subluxation of Spine
Subluxation essentially means dislocation of some part of your vertebrae. If your Tinnitus came on after you started experiencing any of the following symptoms of subluxation, a chiropractor might be able to help you. Symptoms of subluxation are;
How Severe is Your Tinnitus?
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- Back or neck pain
- Ringing in the ears (Tinnitus)
- Headaches
- TMJ symptoms (mentioned earlier)
- Vertigo
- Headaches
Head or Neck Injury
If your Tinnitus came on after you suffered a recent injury to your head or neck or even your back, a chiropractor might be able to help. Injuries can be caused by sudden force applied to the neck or back that might have resulted in a stretching of ligaments, muscle spasms, slipped discs or misalignment in your vertebrae.
Typically, Tinnitus caused by neck or head injuries will result in ringing in just one of your ears.
Ménière disease
This is a disease of the inner ear. It usually affects only one ear. If you suffer from Ménière disease, you will typically suffer from the following symptoms; There has been anecdotal references that cite patients having moderate success with Chiropractic treatments, to treat Ménière disease and the Tinnitus that typically accompanies it.
- Recurring vertigo
- Ringing in the ears (Tinnitus)
- Diminished hearing
- Pressure in the ear
Can a Chiropractor Cure Tinnitus?
If you are suffering from one of the four conditions discussed above, a Chiropractor may be able to help you with both the underlying condition and Tinnitus that acts up as a symptom. But, no chiropractor can guarantee that his or her treatment will work.
Usually, patients do see a gradual improvement in their condition as they keep going back for sessions. Some patients experience significant relief after just one visit while most will require at least 10 visits to experience significant relief. There is however no guarantee that Chiropractor treatments can help with your Tinnitus condition. You might just go for 10 sessions and be none the better.
Typically, Chiropractors will also require you to make changes to your posture or engage you in physiotherapy sessions to strengthen and rehabilitate affected muscle or ligament groups. Your success with the treatment will therefore depend on how diligently you follow up with their advised treatments. Failing to follow up on such advice can result in your underlying condition recurring, also resulting in a return of Tinnitus.
How Does a Chiropractor Try to Treat Your Tinnitus?
Assuming that you go to your Chiropractor for one of the four conditions discussed above, he or she will not directly treat your Tinnitus. Instead, they will try to work on the ligaments or vertebrae that are out of alignment. Aligning vertebrae and relaxing ligaments will allow your body to go back to a normal state that will in turn ease pressure on nerves. This can in turn relieve you of your Tinnitus condition. So, it’s essentially an indirect benefit of having your main condition treated, whether that main condition is a TMJ disorder, back or neck pain, a subluxation or Ménière disease.
Your first visit may or may not include an adjustment. Typically, chiropractors use the first session to understand the history behind your condition. This is followed by x-rays and if necessary, by MRIs. When your condition is assessed, the Chiropractor will then advise you about what is wrong with your spine and supporting ligaments.
Only then will they proceed to make adjustments. Depending on the extent or severity of your problem, a Chiropractor will carefully stagger the needed adjustments to your spine over several sessions.
Is it worth visiting a Chiropractor for your Tinnitus Condition?
Again, as mentioned earlier, you must only consider a visit to the chiropractor if your Tinnitus was brought on by one of the 4 conditions discussed above.
Typically, chiropractors will not be able to help you with Tinnitus if your Tinnitus was caused by a loud noise. They will also not be able to help if you are suffering from pulsatile Tinnitus which is caused by serious health conditions such as blood pressure, plaque build up in your arteries or head and neck tumors.
If your Tinnitus was caused by a loud noise and if it has been less than 48 hours since it came on, you might want to just wait to see if your Tinnitus will go away. In many cases, Tinnitus brought on by exposure to loud noises can go away on its own. In such a case, you might want to look out for these signs that Tinnitus is going away.
