Chronic Otitis Media and Hearing Loss Improved Under Chiropractic Care

On April 19, 2021, the Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health Chiropractic published the results of a case study documenting the improvement of hearing in a child who had been suffering from chronic otitis media with effusion.

The study begins by explaining that there are two types of otitis media. Acute otitis media (AOM) is a infection usually caused by bacteria and involves a rapid onset, ear pain, and red bulging tympanic membrane. Otitis media with effusion (OME), also called serous otitis media, is characterized by fluid in the middle ear without signs or symptoms of ear infection.

This study reports that OME is quite common affecting 90% of children some time before school age. They estimate that there are about 2.2. million diagnoses of OME every year in the United States, which costs the economy $4.0 billion. The study notes that many cases of OME are missed because there is usually no ear pain. Instead, these children may only have hearing loss, ear fullness, or difficulty performing in school. Typical medical treatment for OME is surgery with insertion of ear tubes.

In this case, a 10-year-old girl was brought to the chiropractor by her parents. The girl had been suffering with complaints of hearing difficulty and feelings of ear pressure that had been occurring for over a year. Additionally, the infant girl had repeated ear infections that were treated with antibiotics.

At age 5, the girl failed a hearing test at school and was taken to an otolaryngologist, who diagnosed her with diagnosed with conductive hearing loss due to eustachian tube dysfunction and serous otitis media. She received ear surgery with insertion of ear tubes. At that time, her hearing was restored. However, five years later the girl again had hearing difficulties and was failing hearing tests. It was at this point that the girl's parent brought her to a chiropractor.

A thorough chiropractic examination was performed including postural observation, spinal palpation, thermography, and spinal range of motion. It was determined that subluxations were present and specific forms of age-appropriate spinal adjustments were given. Initially, the girl was initially seen once per week for 18 weeks, after which her frequency was reduced to one visit every two weeks the next 6 weeks.

Initially, after the first visit, the girl complained that her adjustments were painful. However, on the second visit, she did not have the same response and no longer complained about getting adjusted. By the girl's sixth visit, her mother reported she thought her daughter's hearing was improving. The girl was then brought to an otolaryngologist who performed a hearing test and confirmed that the girl's hearing had returned to normal.

In the conclusion of this study, the authors wrote, "The successful chiropractic care of a child with hearing loss associated with otitis media is described. Research has shown a relationship between otitis media, eustachian tube dysfunction, and vertebral subluxation. This study provides supporting evidence that children with similar complaints may benefit from chiropractic care."