Hearing loss is commonly considered a degenerative condition caused by aging or prolonged exposure to loud sounds.
However, sudden hearing loss can also result from a traumatic injury, like a car accident injury.
If you were injured in a motor vehicle accident, especially if your airbag is deployed, you may notice muffled hearing or hearing loss.
Auto accidents can cause a loss of hearing in various ways.
Car accident injuries like whiplash, head trauma, and airbag deployment are the main culprits.
If you've been experiencing ringing in the ears, ear pain, or hearing damage after a car accident, you may be entitled to financial compensation for your medical bills and other expenses.
It's also important to see a car accident chiropractor after an accident.
In the article below, we will discuss hearing loss after a car crash.
In the article below, we will discuss hearing loss after a car crash.
Table Of Contents
- What Is Tinnitus?
- How Does a Car Crash Cause Hearing Loss?
- How Does Hearing Loss Affect Accident Victims?
- Proving Tinnitus From A Car Crash
- How Much Compensation Can You Get for Tinnitus and Hearing Loss?
- How Can Chiropractic Care Help?
- Visit Arrowhead Clinic
What Is Tinnitus?
Along with hearing loss after a car accident, there's a high possibility that you may experience a condition called tinnitus.
Tinnitus is the perception of sound without an external auditory stimulus.
To put it simply, you hear ringing sounds that aren't there.
Usually, it's a ringing noise in the ears, but it can be a soft whistle, buzzing, or humming.
The ringing or sound may either be intermittent or continual.
Over time, tinnitus can cause the loss of adequate hearing.
Tinnitus is also a direct symptom of a traumatic brain injury (TBI).
How Does a Car Crash Cause Hearing Loss?
A combination of factors can cause car crash hearing loss.
However, it is most often a secondary injury resulting from other common car accident injuries, such as:
Head Trauma
Head injuries like concussions or traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are common during a car crash.
Hitting your head on the windshield, steering wheel, or other part of the vehicle can cause traumatic brain injury.
The force of impact can cause one or more of the following injuries:
- Damage to inner ear tissue, membranes, or hair cells
- Ruptured eardrums
- Minor bone injuries in the middle ear
- Disruption of blood flow to the cochlea
A severe skull fracture can cause broken bones to pierce your ear canal.
These painful injuries can result in permanent hearing loss if you don't treat them immediately.
Whiplash
Whiplash is caused by a violent thrusting of the head and neck in a back-and-forth whip-like motion.
Whiplash can be severe enough to cause inner ear damage, depending on the accident's severity.
It can also result in temporomandibular disorder (TMJ), hearing loss, tinnitus, and vertigo.
Airbag Deployment
According to Hearing Health Matters, airbag deployment from the driver's seat generates loud pressure sounds at about 150-170 decibels.
The passenger-side airbag generates a sound level of 168 decibels.
Dual airbag deployment creates a peak sound level of 170 decibels.
A single exposure to a pressure sound at 140 decibels can cause permanent hearing loss.
Accident victims could also experience temporary or permanent hearing loss in one or both ears.
How Does Hearing Loss Affect Accident Victims?
Auto insurance companies and claims adjusters routinely downplay and minimize the significance of hearing loss after a car accident.
However, this medical condition can be debilitating and the sign of a more severe injury, like a TBI.
A hearing loss injury can negatively impact your quality of life if left untreated.
You may be unable to resume your regular job, family life, and social and recreational activities.
Victims suffering from a hearing impairment from a crash may also experience feelings of irritability, fatigue, depression, withdrawal, loneliness, reduced alertness, reduced earning capacity, and diminished overall health.
Emotional injury is worsened when many victims choose to avoid social settings, compounding feelings of loneliness, isolation, and depression.
Proving Tinnitus From A Car Crash
Tinnitus is a subjective condition.
That means there are no diagnostic tests to prove you have tinnitus. Instead, your doctor will diagnose it based on your symptoms.
Several other health conditions can cause ringing in the ears, so your insurance company will often look for evidence to prove your tinnitus was caused by other than the accident.
High blood pressure, ear infections, and medication side effects can cause hearing loss.
Always seek immediate medical attention for ear ringing after a car accident.
Medical records and doctor's notes will be essential to prove the extent of your injuries so you can be fairly compensated.
Working with an experienced attorney can make all the difference in proving tinnitus resulted from a car crash.
How Much Compensation Can You Get for Tinnitus and Hearing Loss?
Compensation from tinnitus depends on a few factors.
Your diagnosis of the condition, based on a doctor's evaluation, can help you reach a settlement for your pain.
Another factor is proving to your lawyer that you were not at fault for the accident.
Most personal injury claims for tinnitus originate in auto accident cases.
Unfortunately, no payout calculator will get you an exact settlement amount for your hearing loss claim.
However, the average settlement amount for tinnitus or hearing loss claims is typically around $50,000 to $250,000.
How Can Chiropractic Care Help?
The vascular and neural problems leading to sudden hearing loss could all result from misalignments in the vertebrae of the .who specialize in helping accident victims recover from hearing loss and a myriad of other injuries so they can return to their everyday health and
Can sudden hearing loss from cervical syndrome be effectively treated by chiropractic adjustments to the spine?
A study divided 90 patients with sudden hearing loss problems into two groups.
The first group was treated pharmacologically with IV medication trips, and the second received the same medication and was also treated with chiropractic care.
The chiropractic treatments included loosening local muscles, attacking points, and bilateral pulling of the atlanton-axial joint.
The group receiving chiropractic care showed remarkably better improvement of symptoms for their sudden hearing loss.
So, chiropractic care can be an effective supplementary treatment for cervical spine disorder and sudden hearing loss.
Visit Arrowhead Clinic
If you were involved in an accident and are dealing with sudden hearing loss, an experienced Chiropractor may be able to help.
Arrowhead Clinic has a team of chiropractors specializing in helping accident victims recover from hearing loss and a myriad of other injuries so they can return to their everyday health and everyday lives.
And, if your accident was due to another driver's negligence, they can refer you to a skilled personal injury attorney that will help you receive maximum compensation.
Each patient that visits Arrowhead Clinic gets a free consultation to find out the source of their pain and design an appropriate treatment plan.
If you are ready to be rid of your tinnitus after your motor vehicle accident, click below to schedule your initial free consultation and begin chiropractic care today!
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