The International Tinnitus Journal

The eight cervical nerves and its role in Tinnitus

Author(s): Henk M Koning, Bas C Ter Meulen

Introduction: The eight cervical nerves might be a source of input to the auditory system.

Objectives: The object was to assess the efficacy of infiltration of the eight cervical nerve root for treating tinnitus patients and to find indicators for a successful result.

Design: Retrospective cohort study. Subjects were 79 tinnitus patients visiting our clinic in a three-year period and who were treated with infiltration of the eight cervical nerve root.

Results: Twenty-six percent of the tinnitus patients had a reduction of their tinnitus following an infiltration of the eight cervical nerve root. Most of the successfully treated patients rated the effect of therapy as a moderate reduction of 25% to 50%. Fifty percent of the successful treated patients still had benefit at 6.6 months. In 5% of the patients, their tinnitus was aggravated after the infiltration of the eight cervical nerve roots. Patients with a hearing loss at 500 Hz that exceed the hearing loss at 2 kHZ responded the most to infiltration of the eight cervical nerve.

Conclusion: Infiltration of the eight cervical nerve root reduced the intensity of tinnitus in 26% of the cohort of 79 tinnitus patients with a moderate to good effect. This therapy for tinnitus patients’ needs to be considered, especially in those with a hearing loss at 500 Hz that exceed the hearing loss at 2 kHZ.

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