A method for treating a patient with laser energy to improve hearing loss. The method involves applying laser energy to the patient's spine, preferably by sweeping a linear laser beam over the patient's skin. The method may alternatively include applying laser energy to the patient's jaw, skull, ears, or a combination thereof. The laser device used for treating the patient is preferably a hand-held probe that moves freely relative to the patient's skin and can generate more than one wavelength of laser energy. In the preferred treatment, the patient is treated with a hand-held probe that emits two laser beams, one laser beam producing a pulsed line of red laser light and the other producing a pulsed line of green laser light. In the preferred embodiment, the patient's upper back, cervical vertebrae, cranial nerves, and temporomandibular joints are treated with laser energy for a total of less than 20 minutes in a single treatment.