Have an Ear Infection? Maybe You Should See a Chiropractor!

Editor: I have to admit I was pretty skeptical when I saw this article. But, I also have to admit that I was won over after reading the article. A chiropractor may be the right treatment for some ear infections! Here's the info.

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April 2009

Recent research reporting on improvement in a 3 year old girl undergoing chiropractic care reveals that chiropractic may play an important role in managing children with hearing loss secondary to ear infections.

The research, reported in the Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health - Chiropractic, includes a review of the literature supporting the role of chiropractic in children suffering from ear infections and calls for more research in this area.

"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" stated Dr. Crystal Brown, the author of the paper. "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."

The unique aspect of this case study is the improvement in hearing that accompanied the chiropractic care. After several rounds of antibiotics, myringotomy tubes placed in the ears and worsening speech and hearing loss, the parents of the child brought her to a chiropractor who checked the child's spine for vertebral subluxations, found them and then reduced them. Abnormal position or movement of the spinal vertebra can develop and this can lead to nerve interference. It is this interference, called vertebral subluxations, that chiropractors correct.

"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." remarked Dr. Matthew McCoy, a chiropractor, public health researcher and editor of the journal that published the study, "This child was experiencing speech, hearing and school challenges as a result of her ear infections and the medical intervention was not helping. It wasn't until the chiropractic intervention that the child improved dramatically and in a very short time."

The child was first diagnosed with ear infections when she was one year old. For the next two or so years the child had repeated infections that were unresponsive to multiple rounds of oral antibiotics, ear drops and three separate insertions of tubes in the ears.

The child's health condition continued to deteriorate with her preschool teacher noticing hearing and speech problems. Audiological testing confirmed both 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.