How is tinnitus manifesting?
Tinnitus is when you hear whistling, buzzing, hissing, chirping, or other sounds in the head that is not occurring in your environment. Although tinnitus is not severe, it can be quite annoying and cause discomfort. Tinnitus is also known to be a symptom of an underlying condition and is not a condition itself.
What is Tinnitus a Symptom for?
The main cause of tinnitus is prolonged exposure to loud noises, such as a live concert or noisy work equipment. As high as 90% of those who have tinnitus have some level of noise-induced hearing loss. This is because the noise causes permanent damage to the cells of the cochlea, an organ in the inner ear that are sensitive to sound.
Tinnitus may also be a symptom from the following:
- Drugs
- About 200 prescription and non-prescription drugs have cited tinnitus as a side effect that may occur during use. Drugs such as aspirin, loop diuretics, antidepressants, various antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, and quinine are among them.
- Blockages
- Blockages can occur from a build-up of wax, an ear infection, or, although rare, a benign tumor of the auditory nerve.
- Meniere’s Disease
- Meniere’s disease affects the inner part of the ear, causing the tinnitus to occur as a symptom.
- Aging
- The natural aging process can lead to the cochlea or other parts of the ear to become weak or deteriorate.
- Otosclerosis
- Otosclerosis is a disease in which the small bones in the middle ear stiffen. When the base of the stapes thickens and, eventually, fuse with the bone of the cochlea, it reduces the person’s standard sound transmission, which results in conductive deafness.
- Injury
- An injury to the head or neck could cause tinnitus to occur.
- Neck or Jaw Problems
- Problems with the neck or jaw, such as temporomandibular joint (TMJ) syndrome, can cause tinnitus.
Also, tinnitus can be a symptom associated with other medical conditions:
- High Blood Pressure
- Diabetes
- Underactive Thyroid Gland
- Autoimmune Disease
- Allergies
- Cardiovascular Disease
- Circulatory Problems
Tinnitus can become worse for those who consume alcohol or caffeinated drinks, eat certain foods, or smoke cigarettes. Foods that often cause tinnitus to act up are salt, sweets, and fast food, as processed food should be avoided.
How is Tinnitus Treated?
The most common treatment options for tinnitus are medications, surgery, and noise suppression devices. The issue with drugs is the number of side effects that can arise while using them. The side effects associated with medications can also be worse than the tinnitus itself.
- Medications
- The most common drugs used include amitriptyline, nortriptyline, and Xanax. Side effects include fast heart rate, weight gain, blurred vision, ringing in ears, poor balance or concentration, and slurred speech to name a few.
- Surgery
- For those experiencing severe tinnitus, this might seem like the last or only option. Medicine is used to “rewire” the body’s system to help stop symptoms. This is the most extreme treatment for tinnitus and is usually considered an option for cases that are rarer such as a tumor, otosclerosis, or cyst. Surgery is not guaranteed to work for each patient.
- Noise Suppression
- Devices are available to help patients with tinnitus tune out the noise. Depending on the severity of your tinnitus, accessories can help provide relief as you go through treatment.
Upper Cervical All-Natural Tinnitus Treatment
While medications, surgery, and noise suppression devices help by targeting symptoms associated with tinnitus, they do not help tackle the underlying problem of what is causing tinnitus. Since tinnitus is a symptom of an underlying problem within the body, it makes sense to go with a treatment that corrects what is causing that initial problem in the body.
Upper cervical treatments continue to be extremely beneficial to those suffering from tinnitus. Many things cause tinnitus; however, it all begins with an issue taking place within the body. Upper cervical adjustments are a type of chiropractic adjustment most of the population is not familiar with. Often when one hears “chiropractic,” they think of cracking backs. Upper cervical is very different from general chiropractic. It relies on exact, gentle adjustments on the upper cervical area of your spine located just underneath the base of your skull.
Although gentle, the adjustments have a huge impact on the body; the upper cervical area of your spine protects the brain stem, and the brain stem supports your brain to body communication. If a misalignment occurs in this area, it could disrupt how your brain stem works and lead to problems in the brain to body communication – leading to the onset of various types of conditions as the body can no longer heal or repair itself properly.
Conditions and complications this disruption of the brain to body communication can lead to include high blood pressure, diabetes, autoimmune disease, otosclerosis, inadequate ear drainage or blockages, other neck or jaw problems, and Meniere’s Disease to name a few.
Sound familiar? These conditions are listed to have tinnitus as a symptom. There is a strong connection between your body’s health and spinal health as the spine protects your entire nervous system. Your brain stem’s health is vital to how your body reacts to injuries and disease. After an upper cervical adjustment, the pressure placed on the brain stem from the misalignment is released and brain to body communication returns to normal. Because the body can communicate properly after an adjustment, upper cervical treatments have greatly improved the condition of patients suffering from tinnitus even after medication and surgery!
Patients have seen improvements after as little as one adjustment. Depending on the gravity of the misalignment, more adjustments may be needed, and fewer adjustments are made over time as the body continues to heal and become strong enough to hold the adjustment in place.
If you or a loved one were suffering from tinnitus and had no satisfactory relief from medication or surgery, or simply looking for an all-natural treatment for tinnitus, upper cervical adjustments can help no matter the age and without the undesirable side effects.