The cervical spine is quite sensitive, and therefore is more susceptible to the influence of negative factors. The development of cervical osteochondrosis is a common phenomenon. The pathology affects people of all ages, regardless of gender. Cervical osteochondrosis is manifested by pain in the neck, headaches and may be accompanied by noise in the head. When the first signs of cervical osteochondrosis appear, you should immediately consult a doctor. The clinical manifestations of the disease will only intensify over time, and treatment will become more complicated. Osteochondrosis must be treated by specialized doctors (neurologists, orthopedists). This disease does not tolerate neglect and will not go away on its own.
At the Yusupov Hospital, the patient is provided with all the necessary medical services for the treatment of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, which will include eliminating noise in the head. Treatment of the disease is carried out by experienced specialists who use methods whose effectiveness has been confirmed by many foreign and domestic studies.
Signs of cervical osteochondrosis
Cervical osteochondrosis develops gradually. Its first signs are usually unpleasant pain in the neck, similar to muscle strain. Nagging, aching pain in the neck occurs after a long stay in one position or after sleep. At the beginning of the disease, pain can still be tolerated without taking painkillers. With the development of osteochondrosis, the pain will only intensify, which requires taking analgesics. Without appropriate treatment, osteochondrosis may cause acute, sharp, severe pain, called “lumbago.” When they appear, it is difficult for a person to move, he is practically unable to work. This type of pain can only be eliminated with the help of blockades with anesthetic, which are performed in a medical institution.
The development of osteochondrosis may be indicated by a characteristic crunch that occurs in the neck when turning the head. Deformation of the intervertebral discs leads to disruption of the structure of the vertebrae. Therefore, with osteochondrosis, it becomes difficult to turn the head and move the upper shoulder girdle. Disorders in the cervical spine are accompanied by discomfort when moving the forearms, hands and fingers. A person may feel tingling in the fingers and discomfort.
One of the characteristic symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis is the appearance of noise and pain in the head. This is a very unpleasant sensation that first occurs under a certain irritant (overwork, stress, careless movement), and subsequently bothers the person even at rest. The noise in the head can intensify, disturbing the psychological state. Constant or periodic hum and noise in the head causes irritation, anxiety, and can cause sleep disturbance or depression.
Therapeutic measures
After making a diagnosis, the doctor will prescribe the necessary treatment aimed at eliminating the cause of the noise in the head. By eliminating the underlying disease, you can get rid of the accompanying symptoms. Treatment is prescribed comprehensively, including a number of measures:
- drug therapy;
- physiotherapy;
- manual therapy;
- massage and self-massage;
- a set of therapeutic exercises.
All stages of treatment must be carried out under the supervision of the attending physician. He will monitor the patient’s condition, noting positive or negative dynamics.
When tinnitus occurs, special attention is paid to the collar area. Strengthening the muscles in this area leads to remission with the disappearance of unpleasant symptoms.
Drug therapy
With the help of appropriate medications, biochemical processes return to normal, metabolism and oxygen supply to the brain improve. The ringing in my ears stops. Symptoms of osteochondrosis become less noticeable.
The main component of drug therapy is the use of drugs belonging to the following groups: diuretics, NSAIDs, metabolic. To improve venous circulation, so-called venotonics are used. With their help, intracranial pressure is reduced and cerebral circulation is improved. List of medications that are used to treat and eliminate discomfort in the head and ears:
- Troxevasin.
- Detralex.
- Furosemide.
- Cinnarizine.
- Cavinton.
- Pentoxifylline.
- Diclofenac.
- Mydocalm.
- Chondroprotective agents.
There are a number of other medications that successfully eliminate noise in the head with osteochondrosis. But a doctor must prescribe them.
Physiotherapeutic activities
To relieve muscle spasms and tension, physiotherapy is prescribed as an anti-inflammatory agent. In combination with medications, they provide a lasting positive effect, especially to eliminate complications of osteochondrosis. Such procedures include:
- medicinal electrophoresis;
- low frequency magnetic therapy;
- low-level laser therapy;
- interstitial electrical stimulation;
- acupuncture.
Manual therapy, massage and self-massage
The next step on the road to recovery is to visit a chiropractor. This should only be done after acute inflammation and exacerbation of cervical osteochondrosis have resolved.
Therapeutic massage will improve blood flow in the veins, relieve muscle tension, and relieve noise and ringing in the ears. Standard massage technique:
- Stroking.
- Trituration.
- Kneading.
- Vibration.
The treatment is a course of treatment, prescribed by a vertebrologist individually, depending on the complexity and severity of the disease.
Important: the massage should be carried out by a chiropractor who is familiar with the technique and points of influence for osteochondrosis.
At home, you can do self-massage of the cervical region. Movements should be smooth, stroking, in the direction from the base of the neck to the head. Painful areas are massaged in a circular motion. Self-massage improves blood circulation, eliminates the feeling of “stiffness” in the neck, relieves congestion and tinnitus. The advantages of this treatment are obvious: you can do it at any free time (2-3 times a day will be enough).
Physiotherapy
Therapeutic measures will be considered incomplete without physical therapy. Exercises are selected individually, taking into account associated factors: the presence of a disease that caused noise and ringing in the head, the patient’s age, and physical fitness. The main condition is regularity of classes. To avoid dizziness, exercises are initially done while sitting. Movements should be smooth, without jerking.
An approximate set of exercises looks like this:
- Tilts the head back and forth.
- Turns the head and neck left and right.
- Tilts of the head to the left and right shoulder.
- Circular movements of the head.
Regular exercise will help get rid of ringing and noise in the ears that occurs with cervical osteochondrosis.
Why does noise occur in the head with cervical osteochondrosis?
Noise in the head with osteochondrosis is the result of impaired blood supply to the brain and the area of the inner and middle ear. In the cervical region, blood vessels and nerve trunks are located close to the spine. When intervertebral discs and vertebrae become deformed, they cause pressure on the sympathetic nerve plexuses and blood vessels that supply the brain. As a result, tissue oxygen starvation occurs and intracranial hypertension occurs.
Noise in the head with osteochondrosis can be accompanied by headache, pain in the temples and occipital region, blurred vision, memory loss, attention disorder, and decreased ability to work. Along with the noise in the head, a person may hear ringing, crackling or buzzing.
GBOU "NIKIO im. L.I. Sverzhevsky" of the Moscow Department of Health
The feeling of constant noise in one or both ears is a very painful feeling, leading some patients to exhaustion and despair. It can also be weak, felt only in silence. By its nature (timbre), the noise can be very diverse: monophonic in the form of a bell or squeak, or multi-toned in the form of the noise of the wind, forest, waterfall, boiling samovar, etc. Less often, the noise is pulsating. Sometimes noise in the ear is combined with noise in the head. The noise in the ear may weaken or intensify at times, especially when the weather changes, with rapid changes in atmospheric pressure. All these ear noises are called subjective, that is, felt only by patients, in contrast to objective noise, which can be heard by an outsider (usually through a tube). Objective ear noises, as a rule, are either pulsating, when noise pulsations in the ear coincide with the heartbeat, with the pulse, or in the form of an aperiodically repeating crackling sound in the ear.
Subjective ear noise is a very common symptom of various diseases of the hearing organ, ranging from the external auditory canal to the auditory zone of the cerebral cortex. It very rarely occurs with normal hearing; more often it appears simultaneously with hearing loss or develops against the background of existing hearing loss - of a sound-conductive nature (conductive), as, for example, with otitis media or otosclerosis, or neurosensory, i.e. with cochlear neuritis.
In patients with otosclerosis and inflammatory pathology of the middle ear, the mechanism of tinnitus is associated with immobility of the stapes or the entry of toxic inflammatory products into the inner ear and irritation of hair cells. The mechanism of ear noise in cochlear neuritis is closely related to the genesis of the underlying disease of the hearing organ or any part of it, which causes nonspecific irritation of the nerve elements of the auditory analyzer.
The most debilitating and difficult to treat tinnitus is observed with cochlear neuritis, which itself can develop under the influence of various causes: exposure to intense environmental noise and vibration (for example, industrial noise, musical cacaphony in clubs and concerts), taking toxic drugs (for example, aminoglycoside antibiotics and loop diuretics), previous general infections (influenza, malaria, etc.), with long-term diabetes, atherosclerosis and hypertension, cervical osteochondrosis, Meniere's disease, etc.
Ear noises of low pitch are more characteristic of middle ear pathology, which is usually accompanied by conductive hearing loss; high tone - damage to the inner ear (with sensorineural hearing loss); mixed tonality - Meniere's disease, various forms of cochlear neuritis, up to damage to the cortical part of the auditory analyzer. A monotonous high-pitched noise is often observed after shooting indoors, after a mechanical injury to the ear (for example, a blow to the ear with the palm of your hand). This noise is caused by local damage to a group of nerve cells in the inner ear.
The effectiveness of treatment of subjective tinnitus in many cases depends on the effectiveness of treatment of the underlying disease. For example, tinnitus due to otosclerosis usually disappears or decreases after hearing-improving surgery. The noise often disappears or decreases after the patient is cured of chronic suppurative otitis media. According to our data, subjective ear noise caused by pathology of the middle ear disappears completely or significantly decreases after successful conservative or surgical treatment in 85% of patients. However, getting rid of tinnitus in patients with cochlear neuritis is very difficult and is much less successful due to irreversible changes in the auditory nerve cells, auditory nerve and cerebral cortex. But, at the same time, treatment can reduce the intensity of the noise, and sometimes remove it for a certain period of time.
In the treatment of ear noise, it should be borne in mind that noise, like pain with appendicitis, flu, etc., is a symptom of a disease in some segment of the auditory analyzer. The intensity of the noise, like the headache, can often be reduced by symptomatic means. A more lasting positive result can be obtained by treating the underlying disease, i.e. pathogenetic treatment. In case of inflammatory pathology of the middle ear, this means eliminating the inflammatory process by conservative or surgical means. With cochlear neuritis that develops in workers in noisy production, the noise sometimes disappears after switching to quiet work, and in the early stages of the development of occupational neuritis, the noise may disappear after rest. In cochlear neuritis of vascular origin, the noise noticeably subsides after a course of vascular therapy (primarily vasodilating and improving venous outflow), reflexology, and health-improving physical exercises. In case of age-related hearing impairment, often accompanied by vascular insufficiency of the brain, noise can be reduced by physical exercises that improve general blood circulation, the prescription of vasodilators, massage of biologically active points, and treatment of cervical osteochondrosis. If the noise is debilitating, it is useful to take a sedative or sleeping pill at night; You can listen to quiet, pleasant music. You should sleep on a raised headboard. Some people find that warmth on the head or ear (dry or wet compress) helps. In some cases, hospital treatment with a protective regime and a course of intensive therapy is indicated.
Drug therapy should be carried out strictly as directed by the doctor, who, based on the examination of the patient, can more correctly choose a complex of drug therapy. At the same time, physical exercise will always be useful, distracting the patient from his own noise and improving blood circulation in the brain and ear, as well as a normal work and rest schedule, good nutrition with a predominance of vegetables, fruits, berries, and dairy products. If you have tinnitus, smoking and drinking alcohol are strictly prohibited.
Using a variety of treatments depending on the general condition of the patient and the cause of hearing loss and tinnitus, unfortunately, not all patients can achieve a good effect; More often it is only possible to reduce the noise and very rarely get rid of it completely in case of cochlear neuritis. The best results were obtained with pathology of the middle ear. In connection with the above, it is necessary for all healthy people to avoid conditions for the development of diseases of the middle and inner ear; first of all, it is necessary to harden the body, avoid noise, give up bad habits, and lead a healthy lifestyle.
Differential diagnosis of noise in the head with cervical osteochondrosis
Noise in the head can be caused not only by osteochondrosis, but also by other pathologies:
- hypertension;
- atherosclerosis;
- tumor, etc.
Therefore, when this symptom appears, differential diagnosis is performed to clarify the patient’s condition. In this case, consultation with a neurologist, otolaryngologist, cardiologist, endocrinologist, etc. is necessary. To obtain accurate information about the development of the disease, the patient is prescribed the following examinations:
- X-ray of the cervical spine (shows the condition of the vertebrae and intervertebral discs);
- Vascular ultrasound (necessary to determine obstacles in blood vessels and the nature of blood flow);
- CT and MRI of the head and neck (the condition of the soft tissues is assessed);
- audiological examination (the condition of the hearing analyzer is assessed).
Arterial hypertension and tinnitus
Dizziness and subjective tinnitus are often early symptoms of arterial hypertension and atherosclerosis. Patients are more likely to experience noise at night when the environment is quiet. It has been noted that hearing loss develops simultaneously or shortly after the onset of tinnitus.
Blood pressure medications for tinnitus and dizziness should be taken regularly. In general, treatment of high blood pressure is not a one-time use of pills according to the principle “when the pressure has jumped.” If you are diagnosed with arterial hypertension, then blood pressure medications must be taken daily for the rest of your life. Read more about the treatment of arterial hypertension on our website Dobrobut.com.
Related services: Consultation with an otolaryngologist ENT combine
Noise in the head with cervical osteochondrosis: treatment at the Yusupov Hospital
Cervical osteochondrosis, which causes noise in the head, requires complex treatment. At the Yusupov Hospital, the patient is prescribed therapy based on the results of examinations, which can be performed here. The diagnostic center of the Yusupov Hospital is equipped with modern equipment that allows you to perform diagnostics in the most complex cases and obtain informative data. Correct diagnosis is a key factor in prescribing adequate therapy.
Specialists at the Yusupov Hospital use modern methods of evidence-based medicine in the treatment of osteochondrosis, which will include:
- drug therapy;
- physiotherapy;
- reflexology;
- massage;
- physical therapy.
Each part of the treatment is supervised by an appropriate professional. The patient can be treated in an outpatient clinic or in a hospital. Each department of the Yusupov Hospital is equipped for comfortable and high-quality treatment of patients with pathologies of varying degrees.
To make an appointment with rehabilitation specialists and clarify the work of the clinic, you can call the Yusupov Hospital.