Tinnitus Sound and Intensity Changed After Osteopathy Treatment

[SNK07]

Hi,

I am quite new to Tinnitus Talk. I have been suffering from tinnitus since August 2022. I would say I have moderate tinnitus with hyperacusis and sometimes noxacusis. My tinnitus is on the left side and for months I have also been hearing the sound slightly on the right.

13 days ago I had a manipulation of the cervical spine and also a treatment of the jaw and neck by an osteopath who is also a chiropractor.

Since then my tinnitus has been much louder and aggressive. The sound changed from high pitched to an electrical sound. After the osteopathy, I had sore muscles and the tinnitus was louder and my ears were very sensitive. I had the feeling that the nerves in my head were going crazy.

The sound in the right ear and the sensitivity have improved, but the sound in the left ear is still high and very aggressive. On the weekend, the left ear was much better but tonight the ears were so sensitive and I had this electrical sound again, which caused insomnia.

Has anyone had a similar experience? The osteopath said that in rare cases the worsening of symptoms can last 2 weeks. I am scared and not sure if the osteopath has worsened my tinnitus permanently.

 

[frank126266]

Same here. I experienced that after a cranial treatment three days ago and was left feeling exhausted. My tinnitus is now louder. I do not have any muscle aches, just extreme fatigue and exhaustion from work. I am not sure how neck and body manipulation can make tinnitus worse, especially since I have been visiting the same osteopath for over ten years.

 

[Rhawnhurst]

My tinnitus and pulsatile tinnitus began after several visits to a chiropractor. I never imagined that a cervical treatment could trigger tinnitus. However, a friend of mine experienced something similar — after a car accident, a sudden movement of his neck immediately led to tinnitus. Establishing a clear cause and effect is challenging, and I found very little information on this. Most articles you read emphasize how chiropractic or osteopathic treatments can help.

One theory is that manipulation may cause a blood vessel to shift closer to the ear, but from what I have read, manipulation cannot physically move a blood vessel. When more serious conditions were ruled out in my case of pulsatile tinnitus, the ENT's notes mentioned cervical problems as a possible cause. However, doing physical therapy for my neck or improving my posture has not affected the tinnitus at all.

Hopefully, one day, someone will determine whether there is a direct connection between manipulation and tinnitus or if the onset or worsening of tinnitus was simply coincidental.