Expert: Gerald Anzalone, D.C. - 11/20/2010

Question
I have had varying degrees of ringing in my ears for the last 4 months; this seems to have developed after the vertigo from Benign Positional Vertigo stopped. And while having soft tissue treatments from a chiropractor that seemed to work..there has been no trauma or accident that has occurred to my ears.  I cannot tell if the adjustments that I have received 5 or 6 during this time have adversely affected.  I was surprised when the upper mid back that is hard to adjust was adjusted with some upper spinal discomfort afterwards seemed to be the onset to the most recent episode of ringing that although not loud is high pitched and certainly distracting. I am also going through a detoxify for heavy metals in my body and that had provided some relief in the lessening of the ringing-noise.  Also when I wake up my left sinus is somewhat blocked which actually provided some relief from the ringing...do you have any thoughts as to what my next steps should or should not be? I cannot tell if I should see a licensed massage therapist, continue seeing a chiropractor for soft muscle therapy or what? I should note here that the left side of the neck is quite stiff and difficult to turn...your thoughts are appreciated  

Answer
Nancy,

Thank you for your question.

Tinnitus is not a common adverse reaction to spinal manipulative therapy. Determining the cause of the problem can be challenging. Typically, an ENT physician or a neurologist performs specific tests to try to determine the cause of the symptoms.

Please see this link from the Mayo Clinic for some additional information on tinnitus:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/tinnitus/DS00365

For your neck soreness/stiffness, seeing either a chiropractor, particularly one who uses soft tissue manipulation techniques, or a licensed massage therapist, or both, may be viable options. Your response to care in large part would be a determining factor in deciding which route to pursue.

There may or may not be a relationship between your cervical spine symptoms and tinnitus; certainly, structures in the head and neck (including the TMJ) can be contributing factors.

I am not aware of any reliable data in the medical literature which supports chelation or detoxification therapy for treating tinnitus.

I hope that this helps to answer your question.