Yes, tight neck muscles, cervical spine issues, and injuries like whiplash can absolutely cause or worsen tinnitus, a condition known as somatosensory or cervicogenic tinnitus, often by disrupting nerve signals or blood flow related to the auditory system. This tension can affect nerves connecting the neck to the brainstem, leading to sounds, especially if the tinnitus changes with head or jaw movements.
Women may experience temporary pulsatile tinnitus during pregnancy due to increased blood volume and cardiac output, which typically resolves after delivery. Understanding your risk factors helps guide prevention and treatment strategies.
If you're suffering from tinnitus, neck injury, or neck tightness, you may also be experiencing an uncomfortable sense of fullness in your ears.
Tinnitus is difficult to treat. There are published studies that report specific head and neck muscles contributing to tinnitus, the most common of which are trapezius, infraspinatus, splenius capitis, semispinalis capitis, sternocleidomastoid, middle scalenes, masseter (especially the deep head) and temporalis.
Somatosensory Tinnitus
Typically, issues with the head, neck, or jaw are at the root of this hearing condition, rather than issues with the ear itself. Massage can help alleviate phantom sounds by reducing tightness around the neck, face, and jaw in order to promote relaxation and rest within the tissues.
For jaw-related tinnitus, treatment typically involves physiotherapy to release tension in the jaw muscle. This eases the mechanical strain on the ear, which can help reduce or eliminate the ringing noise associated with tinnitus.
Cervical tinnitus often occurs in conjunction with cervical spine disorders, such as arthritis or disc degeneration. These conditions can lead to structural changes in the cervical vertebrae, causing compression or irritation of nerves that innervate both the neck and the ears.
A stiff neck with red flags requires immediate medical attention, especially if accompanied by fever, severe headache, vomiting, confusion, weakness, numbness, tingling, or loss of bowel/bladder control, as these can signal serious issues like meningitis, nerve compression, spinal cord damage, or a fracture. Other warning signs include neck pain following significant trauma, persistent pain that worsens, unexplained weight loss, or symptoms like dizziness, trouble walking, or visual changes.
Pillow ear (or ear pain from sleeping) is discomfort, soreness, or pain in the outer ear caused by prolonged pressure, typically from sleeping on your side on a pillow that's too firm or unsupportive, compressing the ear cartilage and reducing blood flow. It can also be exacerbated by head misalignment, certain pillow fills, or underlying issues like piercings or conditions like Chondrodermatitis Nodularis (CNH).
Pulsatile tinnitus is usually a symptom of a blood vessel change around the ear, head and neck. Sometimes it can be caused by reduced hearing from a different ear condition (like glue ear or a perforated eardrum) that means you can hear internal sounds more than external.
A comprehensive CBT program for tinnitus includes these additional components:
According to the study, when the muscles in the neck become tense, they can exert pressure on the blood vessels and nerves that supply the ears. This can cause tinnitus and other auditory symptoms. Another research published in the Journal of Neuroscience suggests that brain auditory pathway changes can cause tinnitus.
While a chiropractor can't cure tinnitus itself, they can help reduce symptoms of tinnitus that are often caused or worsened by spinal misalignments. Chiropractic care can adjust your spine and neck, alleviating the misalignments that can cause ringing in your ears.
Sometimes patients with venous problems, if they press on their neck with gently on the side of the pulsatile tinnitus, it may resolve or almost resolve, this happens because by pressing on the jugular vein in the neck, you change the blood flow in the vein that is causing the pulsatile tinnitus.
Changes in Health Conditions. Underlying health conditions like high blood pressure, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders, or worsening hearing loss can contribute to louder tinnitus. Additionally, some medications, known as ototoxic drugs, may intensify symptoms.
Meningitis is an infection and swelling, called inflammation, of the fluid and membranes around the brain and spinal cord. These membranes are called meninges. The inflammation from meningitis most often triggers symptoms such as headache, fever and a stiff neck.
The classic cardinal signs of cervical ischemia, colloquially referred to as the '5Ds and 3 Ns,' also present in the late stage of CAD: diplopia, dizziness, drop attacks, dysarthria, dysphagia, ataxia, nausea, numbness, and nystagmus [19,20].
Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency can cause or worsen neck and back pain and muscle spasm.
Diabetes, migraines, thyroid disorders, anemia, and certain autoimmune disorders such as lupus and multiple sclerosis are among the chronic conditions that have been linked to tinnitus.
The vertebral arteries travel through the cervical vertebrae to supply critical areas of the brain responsible for balance and coordination. When these arteries are restricted due to poor posture or tight muscles, it can reduce blood flow, leading to symptoms like neck pain nausea, lightheadedness, and dizziness.
Contrary to popular belief, the position and mobility of your spine and neck can have a significant impact on the function of the inner ear. This is because the upper cervical spine is indirectly responsible for regulating the musculature tone along the eustachian tubes.
Masking. William Shatner has relied on masking as the only effective treatment for his tinnitus ever since it started with an explosion on the set of Star Trek. If you have tinnitus, you may have already noticed that when environmental sounds are abundant enough, you don't notice your tinnitus.
Tinnitus is a physical condition, experienced as noises or ringing in a person's ears or head, when no such external physical noise is present. Tinnitus is not a disease in itself. It is a symptom of a fault in a person's auditory (hearing) system, which includes the ears and the brain.
Neck tilt: Sit or stand with a straight back. Gently tilt your head towards one shoulder and hold for 10 seconds. Return to the starting position and repeat on the other side; Neck turn: Turn your head slowly to one side, bringing your chin towards your shoulder.