The International Tinnitus Journal

Pain in Relationship to Tinnitus and Hearing Loss

Introduction: Cervical and lower back pain are noteworthy in the manner of development of tinnitus.

Objectives: The focus of this research was to indicate the consequence of the severity of neck pain and pain of the lower back and/ or lower limbs in tinnitus patients.

Design: A retrospective analysis of 61 patients with tinnitus as main complaint during a three month period.

Results: In this study, we found two groups of tinnitus patients defined by the existence of postural instability. Patients with tinnitus and postural unsteadiness were characterized by predominant female, self-perceived hearing loss, a higher intensity of tinnitus, cervical pain, and pain of the lower back and/or of the lower limbs, and more hearing deficit from 250 Hz to 4 kHz.

Conclusions: In patients with tinnitus one should be aware that hearing loss can be a consequence of high intensity cervical pain. Stimulation of the proprioceptive input pathways due to cervical pain can result in a higher intensity of tinnitus and a hearing loss in the range of 250 Hz to 4 kHz.