Your ability to hear is mainly governed by the tiny hair cells in your ears. When they are intact and unimpaired, you’ve got perfect hearing. However, other factors also come into play. Among other causes, the relationship between spinal health and hearing has been the subject of several studies.
In this area, chiropractors have noted the benefits some of their patients experience after chiropractic treatments. By manipulating the spine, some experienced an improvement in their hearing.
Cervical Spine and Hearing Loss
Your cervical spine is the vertebrae structure in your neck. In this area, you’ve got tendons, ligaments, vertebrae, muscles, and nerves. What’s more, the cervical spine holds the spinal cord which is responsible for sending messages to and from the brain to the body. If you are in an accident, or, in some cases due to old age, your spine is damaged, the cervical spine can become misaligned or damaged.
As a result, some people experience hearing loss or conditions like tinnitus, chronic ear infections, and vertigo.
Chiropractic Treatments for Hearing Loss
Though the effectiveness of chiropractic treatments for hearing loss remains unproven, several studies have produced positive results. In fact, the founder of this treatment method, D.D. Palmer maintained that he had cured a man of deafness by giving him a chiropractic treatment. This was all the way back in 1895.
Since then, the relationship between spinal health and hearing has been the subject of many studies. Today, we can go back to 6 specific case studies suggesting that spinal manipulation leads to improved hearing. As the chiropractor manipulates the cervical spine, some individuals suffering from one of the hearing disorders mentioned above experienced an improvement.
Final Thoughts
Though not fully proven, spinal manipulation may be effective in the treatment of some types of hearing disorders. The relationship between spinal health and hearing will require further examination.
