It is not uncommon for patients (about 10%) who have whiplash to develop otological symptoms such as deafness, vertigo and tinnitus (ringing in the ears). The study showed that whiplash can occur following even a low speed car collision (I have even seen it with certain sports such as snowboarding). The study later goes on to expand and say the 5-50% of whiplash injuries have balance and hearing problems.
“High frequency hearing loss is the most common form of hearing loss associated with whiplash injury and is easily demonstrated with a pure tone audiogram. This type of hearing loss produces difficulties hearing the high frequency consonant sounds and makes it difficult for the patient to discriminate speech, especially in the presence of background noise or when several people are talking.”
A Review of the Otological Aspects of Whiplash Injury
Dr. Cohen’s notes: I have seen hearing issues resolve with chiropractic care and time.