CHIROPRACTIC EXCELLENCE

Below is a selection of excerpts from research documenting improvements in hearing following Chiropractic Care…

Can You Hear Me Now?

Hearing loss is more than just a pain in the neck; it’s a brain thing too.

If you can’t turn up the volume on your television without waking the neighbors, consider a visit to your local chiropractor. Research suggests that mild to moderate hearing loss can be improved or restored by a single chiropractic visit. According to a study published in the journal Chiropractic & Osteopathy, 15 patients who had been diagnosed with significant hearing loss volunteered for a routine spinal adjustment. Of the 15, 6 had their hearing restored completely, 7 showed improvement, and 2 did not change.

According to Joseph Di Duro, a researcher and chiropractic neurologist at Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research in Davenport, Iowa, the biggest improvements occurred where patients needed it most – in the quieter decibel levels in everyday conversations. A year later, the researchers followed up on 3 of the study participants – all showed their hearing had remained improved and intact…

Regular visitors to the chiropractic table might be surprised to learn that the first adjustment given in 1895 wasn’t for back pain at all. It instead cured the patient’s deafness on the spot.

In another more recent case, a 36-year-old soccer player, who slammed the ball with his head and suffering severe hearing loss, had his hearing restored after a few adjustments to his spine and neck. Di Duro has been studying this intricate relationship between the nervous system, the brain, and the body…

Di Duro’s theory is based on findings from chiropractic neurology. Experts speculate that spinal manipulations spark a response back to a muscle, a joint, or the periphery, and into the central nervous system where it affects a wide range of neurological problems, including hearing deficits. Chiropractic neurology patients have reported relief from vertigo, learning disorders, pain, hyperactivity, attention deficit disorder, and other problems…

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Hearing Loss, Otalgia and Neck Pain: A Case Report on Long-Term Chiropractic Care That Helped to Improve Quality of Life

Chiropractic Journal of Australia 2002 (Dec); 32 (4): 119-130

Observation over an extended period assists in understanding the progression of chronic disorders. This patient experienced substantially reduced symptoms with chiropractic care during the 7-year observation period. Of note is the repeated exacerbation of neck pain that often precedes exacerbation in ear symptoms, along with the relief of both following adjustment and an association between improved hearing and improved cervical alignment.

Vertebrogenic Hearing Deficit, the Spine, and Spinal Manipulation Therapy (SMT): A Search to Validate the D.D. Palmer/Harvey Lillard Experience

The claim that hearing can be improved following SMT has been scoffed at as physiologically impossible, but a review of the medical and chiropractic literature suggests that hearing deficits may be associated with spinal joint motion restriction, spondyloarthrosis, irritation of the sympathetic nervous system, decreased cervico-cerebral circulation and/or decrease in tinnitus.

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Chiropractic Care of a Patient with Temporomandibular Disorder and Atlas Subluxation

A 41-year-old woman had bilateral ear pain, tinnitus, vertigo, altered or decreased hearing acuity, and headaches. She had a history of ear infections, which had been treated with prescription antibiotics. Her complaints were attributed to a diagnosis of temporomandibular joint syndrome and had been treated unsuccessfully by a medical doctor and dentist. High-velocity, low-amplitude adjustments were applied to findings of atlas subluxation. The patient’s symptoms improved and eventually resolved after 9 visits.

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Vertigo, Tinnitus, and Hearing Loss in the Geriatric Patient

A 75-year-old woman with a longstanding history of vertigo, tinnitus, and hearing loss experienced an intensified progression of these symptoms 5 weeks before seeking chiropractic care. The patient received upper cervical-specific chiropractic care. Through the course of care, the patient’s symptoms were alleviated, structural and functional improvements were evident through radiographic examination, and audiologic function improved. The clinical progress documented in this report suggests that upper cervical manipulation may benefit patients who have tinnitus and hearing loss.

Cervicogenic Hearing Loss

Findings in 62 patients suffering from vertebragenic hearing disorders are reported before and after chiropractic management. Results indicate that these hearing disorders are reversible, as demonstrated by audiometry and OAE. The therapy of choice is chiropractic manipulation of the upper cervical spine. The commoness of vertebragenic hearing disorders emphasizes their clinical and forensic importance.

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Hearing Improved With Chiropractic - Case Series

The study is significant as it looked for a scientific basis for the story behind the first chiropractic adjustment. In 1895, in Davenport Iowa, Dr. DD Palmer, a self taught healer, encountered a janitor, Harvey Lillard who was working in the building that housed the office of Dr. Palmer.  As history records, Harvey had lost most of his hearing 17 years earlier while working and bending.

Although accounts vary, it is accepted that Dr. Palmer examined Harvey and determined that a bone in his spine was out of place. He concluded that this spinal misalignment was the cause of the hearing loss that Harvey was experiencing. Dr. Palmer then proceeded to give Harvey the first intentional and purposeful chiropractic adjustment. The result was that Harvey’s hearing was restored.

In this series case study, fifteen people with various degrees of hearing loss were tested for certain frequencies to establish their degree of hearing loss. These subjects were then given only a single chiropractic adjustment and subsequently re-tested for any changes in hearing.

After just one adjustment most of the participants experienced significant hearing improvement at various tone levels. Using a standardized testing process known as the Ventry & Weinstein criteria, improvement was shown at various levels of hearing. At 40dB,  6 subjects had hearing restored, 7 subjects improved and 2 had no change. At 25dB using the Speech-frequency criteria, none of the subjects were totally restored, however, 11 had showed improvement, while 4 had no change and 3 missed a tone.

The results of this limited study add further credibility to the story of the first chiropractic adjustment. The researchers concluded, “The observations documented in this case series provide limited support to previous works indicating that, when hearing is tested immediately after a single chiropractic adjusting visit, hearing may be improved in both ears.”

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Click Here To Read The Full Paper…

Perceived indifference is the number one reason for patient drop out - AND - the number one need of each of your client’s is the perception that you have heard and understood their biggest concerns. A major shift in consumer power is the demand for self-help advice. While most MDs THINK that their patients come to them for a prescription; and most DCs THINK that their new patients have come to get their backs cracked; One of the first questions in your patient’s mind/s is “what can I do to help myself?”

I still remember one particular new patient who consulted me. He was wanting help with his chronic recurrent Low Back condition and had already seen his MD for an “expert” opinion. The GP had given him a sheet full of exercises as his prescription. This sheet had actually convinced the man that he was in the wrong place! You see, the copyright symbol at the bottom of the page was 1965! The guy said to me - “if that’s how up to date the MDs are then I figured I needed to find another profession”.

A lot of chiropractic treatment programs are very “front-ended” - That is the new practice member gets a lot of attention and information in the first 1-2 weeks of care: And then they become part of the daily schedule - Arrive, wait, guided into the adjusting room, face down, adjustment, “powers-on, see you next visit”, pay and make an appointment, leave. And as each visit passes they develop a growing dis-ease that they might just be a number.

Here’s one technique to help your practice members feel like you continue to see them as individual, important and cared for: It’s called drip-feeding. People respond and comply much more effectively to your educational inputs when they are in small bite-size chunks, instead of a huge plate full of stew that exceeds the appetite. You can apply this to any aspect of your ongoing systems and procedures but let’s use the example of exercise prescription:

Many DCs have given up on prescribing exercises because of perceived poor compliance and persistence. The primary cause of this poor outcome is the way in which the exercises are taught, delivered and reviewed. Instead try these guidelines…

1) Only teach 1 and never more than 2 exercises at any one visit.

2) Demonstrate the exercise by assisting the person to perform the exercise there and then - it’s fine to give a sheet but these are just visual reminders - NEVER expect a client to perform an exercise from a still picture without demonstration, and DVDs will rarely make it into the player more than once.

3) Let them know that you will be teaching them another exercise next week, and that you will be reviewing their progress.

4) When you teach them the next exercise, get them to quickly show you how they are doing the last one you taught them.

This process should only add 1-2 minutes to that consult if you do it effectively - if this is too long, this can be delegated to a tech CA who you should have assisting you if you are seeing high volume anyway.

This process achieves a number of things - implementation because they will remember the exercise, compliance because they know you will be checking on them, persistence because they have been made accountable.

When we teach the Super Posture program I show a set of 12 simple exercises which are very effective for improving postural habits, and can also be used to improve response to your adjustments. Click Here To Learn More About Super Posture…

Now the challenge for you is to review the information that you currently bombard your new patients with, and take some time to trim it down into smaller bite size pieces, to mix into your drip-feeding recipe…