In Feb. 2011 I contracted mild to medium tinnitus in my right ear as a result of an acoustic trauma (playing guitar in a rock band).
I have been seen by one of the leading neurologists in treating tinnitus. He is located in Phoenix, AZ. Blood work was done, a hearing test was performed and I was sent to a maxillofacial dental pain specialist in Phoenix, because I had complained of fullness in my ears, and tightness in my jaw due to the fact that I grind my jaw at night. The dentist prepared a night guard for the grinding and did a complete work-up on my jaw pain and fullness in my ears. She provided instruction on jaw stretching exercises and ice treatment to reduce the pain, but I was getting no relief form the tinnitus.
About a year into all of this, I was visiting my chiropractor in Sedona, AZ who I had been seeing over the years to adjust my shoulder to correct an injury that I had suffered over a decade ago. I had not seen her since I contracted the tinnitus, and in passing, I mentioned my tinnitus and the horrible suffering I was going through.
She told me that if I was suffering tinnitus and also had the symptom of extreme fullness and/or popping in the ear then it may be possible to relieve the symptom through chiropractic adjustment. I was hesitant at first, but after some discussion I agreed to give it a try. I'm not a medical person so I will explain what happened in layman's terms.
The chiropractor told me that my jaw needed to be moved forward from my ears about 1/8th of an inch, because my present situation created a blockage of blood flow in my ear which caused build-up which added to the problem of the tinnitus. The first sessions consisted of small adjustments in the jaw and cranial areas to open the flow. I did get some temporary relief from these adjustments, but the tinnitus would return after about a day or so; however, the tinnitus would tend to go away in the mornings, especially after a good night's sleep. This may not sound like much relief, but after living with a constant buzzing torture and absolutely no relief from the tinnitus for over a year, it was severals hours of welcomed relief each week. The chiropractor explained that we were working towards a major chiropractic adjustment to the ear, but that my body was not yet ready for that particular adjustment and would not be ready until after the jaw had been moved forward the 1/8th". We would need several more cranial adjustments before the ear would be ready. I continued the treatment with mixed results, but the few hours of relief I got were like getting a new lease on life so I continued and hoped for the best.
Finally, last week on November 19, 2013, she told me I was ready for the adjustment to the ear. She pulled down hard on my lower earlobe and I felt a cracking sound that ran through the ear to the inside of my head in the area where I could hear and almost feel the tinnitus. It scared the bejeezus out of me but it did not hurt. She then pulled upwards on the top of my ear and I felt the same thing again. I could actually feel the inner parts of my ear being moved in a chiropractic adjustment. I went home and realized that my tinnitus was ringing as loudly as ever and I wondered if this was simply the way it would be for the rest of my life. I went to bed depressed as usual about my symptom.
The next morning I woke and the tinnitus was almost gone. I didn't think much of it because after the previous chiropractic treatments this was normal, but the tinnitus usually returned by mid-day or early evening. This time, for the first time, it did not get worse later that day, the next day nor the day after that. It has been almost a week and my tinnitus has remained steady at about 10% of what is was when I started treatment. In other words, I am enjoying a 90% decrease in the severity of my tinnitus. I have even pushed the boundaries, by drinking coffee, eating chocolate and doing all the things that previously triggered my tinnitus. So far it's holding steady and the fullness in my ear has almost gone away as well.
The quality of my life has come back, and I will continue with the chiropractor. She is encouraged that I may have a full recovery.
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I did not want to hear myself say that.
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