Can Cracking Your Neck Unclog Your Ears? A Deep Dive into Chiropractic for Hearing Loss
Let me tell you a story that sounds like it belongs in a medical mystery novel.
It’s 1895 in Davenport, Iowa. A man named Harvey Lillard, a janitor who’s been deaf for seventeen years, is working in a building when a magnetic healer named Daniel David Palmer walks by. Palmer notices something odd about Lillard’s spine—a lump, a misalignment, something that catches his attention. He asks Lillard about it. Lillard, who communicates by writing, explains that seventeen years earlier, he’d been in a cramped, stooped position and felt something “pop” in his back, and his hearing vanished shortly after.
Palmer, reasoning that maybe—just maybe—that spinal issue was connected to the hearing loss, convinced Lillard to let him try something. He pushed on the displaced vertebra, attempting to realign it.
And according to the story, Lillard’s hearing started coming back.
That moment, right there in 1895, is widely considered the birth of modern chiropractic. A deaf janitor, a magnetic healer with a theory, and a sudden restoration of hearing that launched a worldwide profession.
More than 130 years later, we’re still arguing about whether it actually happened, how it might have happened, and whether chiropractic can genuinely help with hearing loss.
So let’s dig into the messy, fascinating, controversial world of chiropractic for hearing loss. What does the evidence actually say? Is this legitimate science or historical fiction? And if you’re a Canadian dealing with hearing issues, should you be considering a trip to a chiropractor?
At Sync Move Rehab Centre, we believe in evidence-based, patient-centered care. That means being honest about what the research shows—even when it’s complicated. So grab a coffee, get comfortable, and let’s explore one of the most controversial questions in manual therapy.
The Hearing Landscape: What We’re Actually Dealing With
Before we dive into chiropractic, let’s talk about hearing loss itself. Because “hearing loss” isn’t one thing—it’s dozens of conditions with different causes, different mechanisms, and different treatment approaches.
The Canadian Numbers
Hearing loss is far more common than most people realize. According to the Canadian Hearing Society, about 60% of Canadians aged 19 to 79 have some degree of hearing loss, though many don’t realize it . Among adults over 40, hearing loss is the third most common chronic condition after hypertension and arthritis.
But here’s the kicker: only about one in five people who could benefit from hearing aids actually uses them. The rest suffer in silence, missing conversations, withdrawing socially, and gradually losing connection to the world around them.
Types of Hearing Loss
When we talk about hearing loss, we need to distinguish between the main types:
Conductive Hearing Loss: This happens when sound can’t travel effectively through the outer or middle ear. Think earwax buildup, fluid from infections, perforated eardrums, or problems with the tiny bones in the middle ear. This type can sometimes be treated medically or surgically.
Sensorineural Hearing Loss: This is damage to the inner ear (cochlea) or the nerve pathways to the brain. It’s usually permanent and caused by aging, noise exposure, head trauma, or certain medications. This is the most common type of permanent hearing loss.
Mixed Hearing Loss: Exactly what it sounds like—a combination of both.
Cervicogenic Hearing Loss: This is the controversial one—hearing loss theorized to originate from problems in the upper cervical spine. We’ll come back to this.
Common Causes of Hearing Loss
- Aging (presbycusis): Gradual hearing loss affecting most people eventually
- Noise exposure: From workplace noise, concerts, headphones
- Ear infections: Especially in children
- Head or neck trauma
- Medications: Certain antibiotics, chemotherapy drugs
- Genetics
- Autoimmune conditions
- Meniere’s disease: A disorder of the inner ear causing vertigo, tinnitus, and hearing loss
The question is: where might chiropractic fit into this picture? And more importantly, where does the evidence suggest it doesn’t fit?
The Origin Story: Harvey Lillard and the Birth of Chiropractic
We have to start here, because this story haunts every discussion of chiropractic and hearing loss.
Daniel David Palmer, the founder of chiropractic, was a magnetic healer—someone who believed the body had magnetic forces that could be manipulated for healing. When he encountered Harvey Lillard in 1895, he developed a theory: the displaced vertebra he felt in Lillard’s spine was pressing on nerves that affected hearing. By realigning it, he freed those nerves and restored function.
Palmer wrote about it in his 1910 textbook: “A hunch bone that was displaced, pressing against the nerves that inflame and cause trouble in the auditory nerve… soon the man could hear as before.”
It’s a compelling origin story. Every profession needs a founding myth. But there are problems.
First, there’s debate about whether Harvey Lillard was actually completely deaf or whether he had partial hearing loss. Some accounts suggest his widow later claimed he remained deaf until his death. We’ll never know for sure.
Second, the anatomy doesn’t quite work. The nerves that serve hearing—the vestibulocochlear nerve—originate in the brainstem and travel to the inner ear through a bony canal in the skull. They don’t pass through the spine. So how could a displaced vertebra in the upper neck affect them? Palmer’s theory doesn’t hold up to modern anatomical understanding.
Third, even if we consider the sympathetic nervous system or blood flow as potential pathways (more on this later), the direct mechanical compression theory is anatomically implausible.
But here’s the thing: just because the original story may be embellished or incorrect doesn’t automatically mean chiropractic has nothing to offer for hearing-related conditions. Science is messy. Sometimes effective treatments emerge from incorrect theories. Sometimes correct theories lead to ineffective treatments. We have to look at the evidence, not just the origin story.
Dr. Harriet Hall, a retired family physician and skeptical commentator, puts it bluntly: “Spinal manipulation is not an effective treatment for hearing loss” . But is that the final word? Let’s look at what the research actually shows.
The Evidence: What Science Says About Chiropractic and Hearing Loss
This is where things get complicated. Because the evidence is mixed, much of it is low-quality, and passionate advocates on both sides interpret the same studies completely differently.
The 2024 Pediatric Case Report
Let’s start with the most recent published case. In 2024, the Journal of Contemporary Chiropractic published a case report of a 4-year-old child diagnosed with 25% conductive hearing loss in both ears .
Here’s what happened: The child’s parents noticed he wasn’t responding when his name was called. An audiogram confirmed hearing loss. There was some fluid present in the ears, but it wasn’t infected (non-purulent). The family physician recommended medication, but the parents opted to try chiropractic first.
The chiropractor examined the child and found tight muscles and decreased mobility in the upper neck—the suboccipital muscles and cervical spine. Using an Activator instrument (a spring-loaded device that delivers a low-force impulse), the chiropractor provided ten adjustments over three weeks.
After three weeks, the parents returned to their physician for another audiogram. The result? No hearing loss detected. The child’s hearing had normalized .
The authors of the case report hypothesized a mechanism: “The muscle spasms may have been mechanically distorting the eustachian tube, lymphatic drainage and/or disruptive nerves or blood vessels to the inner ear causing improper drainage” .
Now, before we get too excited, let’s acknowledge the limitations. This is a single case report—the lowest level of evidence. There’s no control group. The child might have improved on their own over those three weeks. The fluid might have resolved naturally. Correlation isn’t causation.
But it’s also worth noting that this was a child with conductive hearing loss related to fluid and neck muscle tension—not sensorineural hearing loss from nerve damage. The proposed mechanism involves the eustachian tube and lymphatic drainage, which are anatomically plausible connections to the upper neck. The upper cervical muscles and fascia do have connections to structures that could influence ear drainage.
The 2022 Case Report on Severe Hearing Loss
Another case report from 2022 described a 62-year-old woman with severely reduced hearing and loud tinnitus following a weight-lifting injury . She had a history of bruxism (teeth grinding) and poor sleep.
Audiometry before treatment confirmed significant hearing loss, worse in one ear. Examination identified spinal restrictions (what chiropractors call “subluxations”) at C3-C4, T3-T4, and the sacrum, plus C0-C1 issues on follow-up.
After four chiropractic sessions using Diversified Technique, re-evaluation showed a 90% increase in hearing on the left side . The patient also reported significant reduction in tinnitus, improved sleep quality, and fewer nighttime awakenings.
The authors noted that while several spinal restrictions persisted, the upper cervical (C0-C1) restriction did resolve—and this area has the highest density of nerve innervation relevant to the head and ear .
Again, limitations: case report, no control, possible placebo effects, natural fluctuation of symptoms. But also again, an intriguing outcome that raises questions worth investigating.
The 2014 Case Report with Audiogram Confirmation
A 2014 case report published in Topics in Integrative Health Care described a 46-year-old woman with neck pain, tinnitus, and hearing loss that hadn’t improved after eight months of medical treatment . A pre-treatment audiogram showed low-frequency hearing loss, worse in the left ear.
She began chiropractic care. After just three adjustments, her hearing and associated symptoms significantly improved. She received 12 treatments over four months. On a patient-rated scale (0-10, with 10 being completely impaired), her symptoms dropped from 7 to 1. A follow-up audiogram was normal .
The authors noted that this case, along with others previously published, “aid in the consideration of spinal manipulation as a possible intervention for hearing loss associated with neck pain” .
The 2006 Case Series
One of the more cited studies is a 2006 case series by Joseph Di Duro, published in Chiropractic & Osteopathy . The study involved 15 patients whose chief complaint was not hearing loss, but who were found to have hearing impairment on testing.
Here’s what they found: after a single chiropractic visit, eight patients improved in one ear, three improved in both ears, four were unchanged, and three actually got worse. The post-treatment tests continued to show worse hearing in the left ear than the right .
The author speculated about mechanisms involving brain plasticity and the effect of peripheral stimulation on thalamic activity—fancy neuroscience terms for “stimulating the body might affect how the brain processes sound.”
Skeptics were unimpressed. Dr. Hall comments: “The discussion section of the report admits that this study can’t prove a cause and effect relationship. To support his speculations, the author references… junk science and its conclusions depend on circular reasoning” .
She also raises a valid point: the finding of more hearing loss on the left side is odd. Hearing loss should be evenly distributed. What could account for that discrepancy? Possibly measurement issues or small sample size quirks, but it’s worth noting.
The 2000 Geriatric Case Report
A 2000 study in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics described a 75-year-old woman with longstanding vertigo, tinnitus, and hearing loss whose symptoms worsened over five weeks before seeking chiropractic care . She received upper cervical-specific adjustments, and her symptoms improved along with audiologic function .
The authors concluded that “upper cervical manipulation may benefit patients who have tinnitus and hearing loss” .
Again, the skeptic’s counter: symptoms fluctuate naturally, regression to the mean is powerful, and without controls, we can’t attribute improvement to the treatment .
The 1994 German Study on Cervicogenic Hearing Loss
This one’s interesting because it comes from mainstream ENT literature, not chiropractic journals. Dr. M. Hülse published a study in HNO, a respected German ENT journal, examining the concept of “cervicogenic hearing loss” .
He studied 259 patients with well-defined functional deficits of the upper cervical spine and symptoms of cervical vertigo. Among these patients:
- 15% reported subjective hearing disorders
- 40% showed audiometric threshold shifts of 5-25 dB, most often in lower frequencies
He then reported on 62 patients diagnosed with “vertebragenic hearing disorders” before and after chiropractic management. The results indicated that these hearing disorders were reversible, as demonstrated by audiometry and otoacoustic emissions testing. His conclusion: “The therapy of choice is chiropractic manipulation of the upper cervical spine. The commonness of vertebragenic hearing disorders emphasizes their clinical and forensic importance” .
This is significant because it’s not chiropractors studying chiropractic—it’s an ENT specialist studying patients with neck problems and finding associated hearing issues that improved with neck treatment.
Skeptics counter that the study doesn’t prove the disorder exists in the first place, that there were no controls, and that you can’t conclude a treatment of choice without comparing it to alternatives .
But the fact that an ENT journal published this suggests the hypothesis isn’t entirely fringe.
The 2015 Chinese Randomized Controlled Trial
This is perhaps the most methodologically rigorous study we have. Published in China Journal of Orthopaedics and Traumatology in 2015, this randomized controlled trial examined 90 patients with cervicogenic sudden hearing loss .
Patients were randomly divided into two groups:
- Control group (45 patients): Conventional Western medicine with intravenous dexamethasone (steroid) and mecobalamin (vitamin B12) for 10 days
- Treatment group (45 patients): Same medication PLUS cervical chiropractic manipulation (including soft tissue relaxation, acupoint pressure, and atlantoaxial joint manipulation) for 10 days
The results:
- Pure tone hearing improvement: Treatment group improved by 40.23 ± 8.14 dB, control group by 37.70 ± 10.61 dB—a statistically significant difference favoring the chiropractic group
- Neck pain scores: Treatment group improved to 12.70 ± 8.29, control group to 21.24 ± 11.13—also significantly better in the chiropractic group
The authors concluded that “compared with Western medicine alone, chiropractic manipulation combined with medication can better improve hearing loss and neck pain symptoms in patients with cervicogenic sudden hearing loss, improving overall treatment effectiveness” .
This is a randomized controlled trial—stronger evidence than case reports. It’s not perfect: it’s not blinded (patients knew they were getting manipulation), and it’s from a single center. But it’s a legitimate attempt to answer the question with better methodology.
The 1994 Complication Case Report
Before we get too enthusiastic, we need to acknowledge risks. A 1994 case report described a 43-year-old man who sought chiropractic manipulation for tinnitus . During the manipulation, he experienced severe neck pain accompanied by an audible clicking sound. Imaging revealed an intracapsular/intraosseous edema of the facet joints at C2-C3 with lesion of the nerve root C3—likely caused by the manipulation.
The authors note: “Although complications after chiropractic manipulation are extremely rare, treatment of the spine, especially the cervical spine, is not wholly harmless. Adequate history taking followed by clinical and radiographic patient evaluation is necessary to keep the risk of iatrogenic trauma at a minimum” .
This is a crucial point. Cervical spine manipulation carries risks, including rare but serious vascular injuries. Any discussion of chiropractic for any condition must acknowledge that the treatment itself isn’t risk-free.
The Proposed Mechanisms: How Might This Work?
If chiropractic does sometimes help with hearing, how might that happen? Several mechanisms have been proposed, ranging from plausible to speculative.
The Anatomical Connections
The upper cervical spine and the ear are connected in several ways:
Muscular Connections: The suboccipital muscles—tiny muscles at the base of your skull—have fascial and connective tissue attachments that extend toward the cranial base and potentially influence structures related to ear function. Muscle tension in this area could theoretically affect eustachian tube drainage or lymphatic flow .
Nerve Connections: The trigeminal nerve (cranial nerve V) and the upper cervical nerves (C1-C3) converge in the brainstem at the trigeminocervical complex. This is the same pathway implicated in cervicogenic headaches. Stimulation or dysfunction in the upper neck can theoretically influence sensations and reflexes in the head and face .
Sympathetic Nervous System: The sympathetic chain runs along the cervical spine. Some researchers have proposed that spinal dysfunction could irritate sympathetic nerves, affecting blood flow to the inner ear or altering the function of the eustachian tube .
Vascular Connections: The vertebral arteries travel through the cervical spine to supply blood to the brainstem and inner ear. While it’s unlikely that manipulation could “improve” blood flow in a beneficial way, some have speculated that removing restrictions could enhance circulation .
The Autonomic Nervous System Hypothesis
A 2022 case report discussed the potential role of the autonomic nervous system. The authors cite research showing that manipulative therapies can affect autonomic measures—for example, a randomized trial found that osteopathic manipulation increased brachial blood flow and stimulated the vagal system in heart failure patients .
However, a 2019 systematic review concluded that “based on the current evidence there is uncertainty regarding the true effect estimates of spinal manipulation on autonomic nervous system-mediated outcomes” . A 2020 randomized trial found no effect on cardiovascular autonomic activity .
So while the hypothesis is interesting, the evidence is weak and inconsistent.
The “Central Plasticity” Hypothesis
This is the most speculative. The idea is that sensory input from spinal manipulation could trigger changes in how the brain processes auditory information—essentially “retuning” the central auditory pathways. This is the mechanism proposed in the 2006 Di Duro case series .
Skeptics note that while sensory stimulation certainly affects brain activity, that’s a far cry from demonstrating clinically meaningful changes in hearing.
The Skeptic’s Case: Why Many Doctors Remain Unconvinced
It’s important to present the other side fairly. Dr. Harriet Hall, writing for Science-Based Medicine, makes several compelling points :
The Evidence Quality Problem
Most of the evidence consists of case reports and small case series. These are useful for generating hypotheses but can’t prove causation. The few higher-quality studies have methodological limitations—lack of blinding, small samples, no control groups.
The Natural History Problem
Many conditions that affect hearing—Meniere’s disease, sudden hearing loss, fluid in the ears—have a natural tendency to fluctuate or resolve spontaneously. If you treat someone when symptoms are worst and they improve, regression to the mean alone could explain the improvement.
The Placebo Problem
Chiropractic involves hands-on touch, therapeutic attention, and patient expectation—all powerful placebo generators. Without sham-controlled trials, we can’t separate specific treatment effects from placebo responses.
The Anatomical Implausibility Problem
For sensorineural hearing loss—damage to the cochlea or auditory nerve—there’s simply no plausible mechanism by which spinal manipulation could regenerate hair cells or repair nerve damage. This isn’t a matter of “science hasn’t discovered it yet”; it’s a matter of basic biology.
The Risk Problem
Cervical manipulation carries rare but serious risks, including vertebral artery dissection that can cause stroke. Even if the risk is low, it must be weighed against the potential benefit—especially for a condition where the evidence of benefit is weak.
Where Does This Leave Us? A Balanced Perspective
After reviewing all the evidence, here’s my attempt at a balanced, honest assessment.
What We Can Say with Confidence
Chiropractic is not a proven treatment for most types of hearing loss. If you have age-related sensorineural hearing loss, noise-induced damage, or genetic hearing impairment, there’s no credible evidence that spinal manipulation will help. Anyone who claims otherwise is overpromising.
The evidence is strongest for hearing loss associated with neck problems. The concept of “cervicogenic hearing loss”—hearing issues stemming from upper cervical dysfunction—has some support in the literature, including from ENT researchers. If you have neck pain, stiffness, or a history of neck injury along with your hearing issues, there’s a plausible connection.
The best evidence comes from the 2015 Chinese RCT, which showed that adding chiropractic to conventional medical treatment improved outcomes for cervicogenic sudden hearing loss. This is one study and needs replication, but it’s better evidence than case reports.
What Remains Unclear
Whether the improvements seen in case reports are due to specific treatment effects or natural history. Many of these patients might have improved anyway. Without controls, we can’t know.
Which patients might benefit. If cervicogenic hearing loss exists, it’s probably a small subset of all hearing loss patients. We don’t have good ways to identify who might respond.
Whether the risks are worth the benefits. For mild, fluctuating hearing issues with clear neck involvement, the risk-benefit calculation might be reasonable. For severe sensorineural loss, probably not.
What Chiropractors Should and Shouldn’t Claim
Ethical chiropractors should:
- Be honest about the limitations of the evidence
- Not promise hearing restoration
- Focus on patients with neck symptoms alongside hearing issues
- Work collaboratively with ENT specialists
- Document outcomes objectively (audiograms where possible)
- Discuss risks honestly
Unethical chiropractors who claim to cure deafness or treat all hearing loss should be avoided.
The Practical Guide: If You’re Considering Chiropractic for Hearing Issues
If you’re a Canadian dealing with hearing loss and wondering whether chiropractic might help, here’s a practical framework.
First, See an ENT
Before any chiropractic care for hearing issues, you need a proper medical diagnosis. See an ear, nose, and throat specialist. Get a comprehensive audiogram. Understand what type of hearing loss you have and whether there are treatable medical causes.
If you have sudden hearing loss, this is a medical emergency—see a doctor immediately.
Consider Chiropractic If…
You might reasonably consider chiropractic if:
- You have neck pain, stiffness, or restricted movement along with your hearing issues
- Your hearing loss fluctuates or seems connected to neck position or tension
- You’ve had a neck injury (whiplash, fall) that preceded or worsened hearing problems
- You have a diagnosis of “eustachian tube dysfunction” or fluid-related conductive issues
- You’ve been evaluated by an ENT and no treatable medical cause is found
Be Realistic About Expectations
If chiropractic helps, what might that look like? Based on the case reports:
- Improvement is more likely for conductive issues than sensorineural
- Changes might be modest—not dramatic restoration of normal hearing
- It may take several sessions to see any effect
- Results vary widely between individuals
Ask the Right Questions
If you consult a chiropractor about hearing issues, ask:
- What’s your experience with hearing-related cases?
- How will we measure progress? (Audiograms are objective—ask for them)
- What’s your plan if this doesn’t help?
- Will you communicate with my ENT doctor?
- What are the risks of cervical manipulation?
Red Flags
Avoid any chiropractor who:
- Guarantees results
- Claims to cure deafness
- Discourages you from seeing an ENT
- Recommends long-term “maintenance” care before any improvement is shown
- Dismisses the need for objective testing
The Integrative Approach: How Chiropractic Fits with Other Care
At Sync Move Rehab Centre, we believe in integrated, evidence-informed care. If you’re dealing with hearing issues, here’s how different providers might work together:
ENT Specialist: Provides diagnosis, rules out serious causes, offers medical and surgical options where appropriate.
Audiologist: Performs detailed hearing tests, recommends and fits hearing aids if needed, provides rehabilitation.
Chiropractor: Addresses musculoskeletal components—neck tension, spinal restrictions, postural factors—that might be contributing to symptoms.
Physiotherapist: Provides exercises for neck strength and mobility, postural retraining.
Massage Therapist: Addresses soft tissue tension in neck and shoulders.
Dentist or TMJ Specialist: If jaw issues are contributing (common with bruxism, which appeared in several case reports).
The key is communication. Your providers should talk to each other, share records, and work toward common goals.
What You Can Do Right Now
Whether or not you pursue chiropractic care, here are evidence-based things you can do for hearing health.
Protect Your Hearing
- Use ear protection in noisy environments
- Keep headphone volume at safe levels (if someone else can hear your music, it’s too loud)
- Give your ears recovery time after noise exposure
Address Neck Tension
Even if it doesn’t directly affect hearing, chronic neck tension affects quality of life. Gentle stretching, good posture, and regular movement help.
Simple Neck Stretches
- Chin tucks: Pull your chin straight back (like making a double chin), hold 5 seconds, repeat 10 times
- Neck rotations: Slowly turn head to look over each shoulder, holding at comfortable end range
- Side bends: Gently bring ear toward shoulder, hold, repeat both sides
Manage Stress
Stress exacerbates many conditions, including tinnitus and possibly some hearing issues. Mindfulness, adequate sleep, and stress reduction techniques help.
Stay Connected
Hearing loss is isolating. If you’re struggling, seek support—from family, friends, support groups, or professionals. Communication strategies, hearing assistive technology, and simply being honest about your needs make a huge difference.
The Bottom Line: Honesty, Humility, and Hope
Here’s where we land after wading through more than a century of controversy, case reports, skeptical critiques, and a handful of higher-quality studies.
Chiropractic for hearing loss is not proven in the way that, say, antibiotics for bacterial infections are proven. The evidence base is weak, consisting mostly of case reports and small studies. The mechanisms are speculative. The risks, while rare, are real.
But “not proven” is different from “disproven” or “impossible.” The existence of multiple case reports—including some with objective audiometric confirmation—suggests that something is happening for some patients. The 2015 randomized controlled trial from China adds a bit more weight, showing that chiropractic added to medical care improved outcomes compared to medical care alone for cervicogenic sudden hearing loss.
The most plausible scenario is this: there exists a subset of patients—likely those with neck dysfunction affecting structures related to ear function (muscles, fascia, nerves, lymphatic drainage)—who may experience hearing improvements when that neck dysfunction is addressed. This isn’t “chiropractic cures deafness.” It’s “addressing neck problems might help some people with certain types of hearing issues.”
For the vast majority of hearing loss—age-related, noise-induced, genetic, autoimmune—chiropractic is unlikely to help. Anyone who claims otherwise is selling something.
But for the person with neck pain, stiffness, and a history of injury whose hearing has been fluctuating—for that person, a thoughtful, evidence-informed trial of chiropractic care, with clear goals and objective measurement, might be reasonable.
At Sync Move Rehab Centre, we’re committed to honest, patient-centered care. That means telling you what we know, what we don’t know, and what we’re uncertain about. It means working with your other providers, not against them. And it means always putting your health and safety first.
The story of Harvey Lillard and D.D. Palmer may be more myth than history. But myths sometimes point toward deeper truths. The truth here is that the human body is complex, interconnected, and still full of mysteries. The spine and the ear are connected—not by a simple mechanical lever, but by a web of muscles, nerves, fascia, and blood vessels that we’re still learning to understand.
If you’re struggling with hearing issues and neck problems, don’t expect miracles. But don’t dismiss the possibility that addressing one might help the other. Just go in with eyes open, expectations realistic, and a healthcare team that communicates.
Your ears—and your neck—will thank you.
References
- Dittmar C, Mansholt B. Resolution of Hearing Loss in a 4-Year-Old: A Case Report. J Contemp Chiropr. 2024;7(1):28-31. *[2024 case report of 4-year-old with 25% conductive hearing loss resolving after 3 weeks of chiropractic care]*
- Hall H. Chiropractic and Deafness: Back to 1895. Science-Based Medicine. 2009 Aug 10. [Critical review of chiropractic hearing loss claims, analyzing 6 studies and questioning methodology and plausibility]
- Hülse M. Cervicogenic hearing loss. HNO. 1994 Oct;42(10):604-13. [German ENT study of 259 patients with cervical dysfunction, finding 40% with audiometric shifts and improvement with chiropractic management]
- Resolution of hearing loss after chiropractic manipulation [case report]. Top Integr Health Care. 2014;5(3). *[2014 case report of 46-year-old with 8 months of failed medical treatment, hearing normalized after chiropractic care]*
- Alarcon EM, Postlethwaite R, McIvor C. Resolution of severe hypoacusia and first degree tinnitus concomitant with chiropractic care. Asia-Pac Chiropr J. 2022;2.5. *[2022 case report of 62-year-old with 90% hearing improvement after 4 chiropractic sessions]*
- Kraft CN, Conrad R, Vahlensieck M, et al. Non-cerebrovascular complication in chirotherapy manipulation of the cervical vertebrae. 1994. [Case report of complication from cervical manipulation, highlighting importance of proper assessment and qualified practitioners]
- Di Duro JO. Improvement in hearing after chiropractic care: A case series. Chiropr Osteopat. 2006 Jan 19;14:2. [Case series of 15 patients, showing hearing improvements after single chiropractic visit, though skeptics question methodology]
- Kessinger RC, Boneva DV. Vertigo, tinnitus, and hearing loss in the geriatric patient. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2000 Jun;23(5):352-62. *[Case report of 75-year-old with symptom improvement after upper cervical chiropractic care]*
- 正骨手法治疗颈源性突发性耳聋的随机对照试验 [A randomized controlled trial on treatment of cervicogenic sudden hearing loss with chiropractic]. Zhongguo Gu Shang. 2015 Jan;28(1):62-5. *[2015 RCT of 90 patients showing chiropractic + medication superior to medication alone for cervicogenic sudden hearing loss]*
- Araujo FX, Ferreira GE, Angellos RF, et al. Autonomic Effects of Spinal Manipulative Therapy: Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2019 Oct;42(8):623-634. [2019 systematic review finding uncertainty about effects of spinal manipulation on autonomic nervous system outcomes]
- Sync Move Rehab Centre – Official Website [Your trusted partner in rehabilitation and movement health, offering integrated care including chiropractic, physiotherapy, and complementary approaches]
