Improved Hearing and Resolution of Ear Infections With Chiropractic Care - A Case Study

A case study research article published on March 25, 2009 in the scientific periodical, the Journal of Pediatric, Maternal and Family Health, documented a case of improved hearing and the resolution of ear infections with chiropractic care. This case followed the progress of a three year old girl who had right and left ear pain and hearing loss after three unsuccessful implantations of tympanostomy tubes as well as multiple medications.

The research article starts off by noting that ear infections are one of the most common diagnoses of children by pediatricians in the United States. According to the study, over one third (35%) of all pediatrician visits in the U.S. in 1990 and 46% of all three year-olds have experienced three or more episodes of this condition.

The case study author also reviewed the literature involving chiropractic care for children with ear infections. Dr. Crystal Brown, the author of the paper noted, "Numerous case studies and some clinical studies are revealing that there is a relationship between abnormalities in the spine, the nervous system and the various problems related to ear infections. These types of structural problems in the upper part of the neck cause a back-up of the lymphatics and problems with the tubes draining the middle ear. By removing the structural imbalance chiropractic helps these fluids drain, and improves nerve supply and range of motion."

In this case the young girl was first diagnosed with ear infections when she was one year old. For the next several years the child had repeated infections that were not helped by multiple rounds of oral antibiotics, ear drops and three separate insertions of tubes in the ears. This case reported that the little girl's health condition continued to get worse to the point where her preschool teacher even began noticing both hearing and speech problems. Hearing tests confirmed these findings and the third set of tubes were removed due to complications of excessive fluid accumulation, rupture of the eardrum, worsening speech disturbances and bilateral hearing loss.

At this point the girl's mother decided to try chiropractic care prior to another set of tubes. The child was examined and the finding of upper cervical (neck) subluxations was made. A course of specific adjustments was initiated to correct the subluxations.

After about one month of chiropractic the child improved dramatically including a normalizing of the audiology testing. The child reported an increase in hearing and told her mother, "I can hear again". The child's mother reported the child had less ear pain, was less irritable, and had better speech. It was even reported by the preschool teacher that the girl was more attentive.

Dr. Matthew McCoy, a chiropractor, public health researcher and editor of the journal that published the study commented, "With everything we know about the dangers of antibiotic abuse, chiropractic intervention makes perfect sense in the case of childhood ear infections. In fact, chiropractic is the treatment of choice for dealing with the structural and neurological aspects of ear infections. This child was experiencing speech, hearing and school challenges as a result of her ear infections and the medical intervention was not helping. It wasnt until the chiropractic intervention that the child improved dramatically and in a very short time."

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