Tinnitus
A pinched nerve can promote the development of tinnitus and/or amplify existing ear noises. Tinnitus is caused by the anatomical connection between the joints of the upper cervical spine and the cranial nerve nuclei of the auditory and vestibular nerves: there is a direct nerve connection between the nerves of the fine muscles of the cervical spine and the cranial nerve nuclei. If it is disturbed by a trapped nerve, tinnitus develops.
It is intensified by muscle tension, as is often the case with a trapped nerve. On the other hand, tinnitus often leads to muscle tension due to the pressure of suffering, which in turn aggravates the complaints of the pinched nerve. Characteristically, the tinnitus is unilateral and sounds deep and dull.
In the case of chronic dysfunction, it is a noise with high-pitched tones. Head movements intensify the tinnitus. These articles may be of interest to you in this regard: Cervical spine and ear noises and tinnitus
Dizziness
A pinched nerve can be accompanied by a feeling of dizziness: Affected persons feel drunk even though they have not consumed alcohol. They perceive their environment through a pane of glass and feel a absorbent cotton feeling in their head. Therefore, it is difficult for them to fixate or concentrate on something for a long time with their eyes.
The cause lies mainly in altered states of tension in the short neck muscles. These move the head exactly over the first two cervical vertebrae and define the head position. In addition, they measure the state of tension via a large number of receptors and report this to the brain.
If a nerve is pinched, this results in altered states of tension and the cervical spine is crooked. This information is different from the information that the eyes and the sense of balance send to the brain. Dizziness is the result.
Headaches
It is not unusual for people with a pinched nerve to suffer from headaches. These are usually at the back of the head and have a pulling pain character. Since the nerves run from the cervical spine to the back of the head, it can also happen that the headache also runs along a line from the neck to the middle of the head. If the muscles are also tense, the meninges are irritated and these in turn report back pain. In addition, malpositioning of the cervical spine impairs the blood supply to the brain and thus increases headaches.
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