Cortisol Concentrations in Tinnitus Sufferers: A New Study

An exciting new development into a health condition that affects an estimated six million people in the UK has been revealed by a leading researcher. 

Dr James Jackson, associate principle lecturer in psychology at Leeds Trinity University has led a pilot study, funded by the British Tinnitus Association, looking at the concentration of the stress hormone cortisol in tinnitus sufferers. 

His evidence suggests that people who report a high level of distress caused by their tinnitus also have a flat diurnal cortisol rhythm which could lead the way to developing more effective interventions. 

Tinnitus is an often debilitating condition that is described as a sensation or awareness of sound that is not caused by a real external sound source. It affects one in ten UK adults and there are approximately 750,000 tinnitus related GP consultations in England each year.  

The condition can greatly impact on a sufferer’s quality of life with approximately half of patients finding it moderately or severely distressing with complaints of intrusiveness emotional stress, insomnia, auditory perceptual problems and concentration problems. 

As part of his study, Dr Jackson asked participants to provide saliva samples first thing in the morning so he could look at stress hormone levels.   

Says Dr Jackson: “Waking up is the time of day when you are secreting the highest concentrations of stress hormones, particularly one called cortisol, in anticipation of the day ahead and I wanted to investigate the mechanism which produces it.  

"In general, you pump out cortisol first thing, and you reach peak secretion approximately 40 minutes after waking up. Levels then fall back all day, and should be down to nearly nothing at roughly midnight, when you fall asleep and have no energy. There is a set rhythm for this called the diurnal cortisol cycle. However, it’s already known that if you secrete too much cortisol in the morning it’s an indication that you're under a lot of stress but secrete too little and it’s more 'burnout' - you've been anxious/stressed for so long that your body has turned the tap off. Having too much cortisol in the system for too long is very damaging. 

“High levels of cortisol first thing can indicate conditions like anorexia and OCD and low levels can indicate things like depression, chronic pain and chronic fatigue syndrome. 

“My research has been looking at the effect tinnitus has on this morning rhythm and I hypothesised that it would have more in common with conditions such as chronic pain. It’s been a small study but I can conclude that there is evidence suggesting a flat diurnal cortisol rhythm in distressed tinnitus sufferers. Right now, this appears to be related to 'burnout' where, due to issues these particular patients have such as a lack of control, an inability to relax and emotional distress caused by the tinnitus, their bodies have shut down cortisol production. 

“The most logical explanation is that this is about whether or not patients feel a sense of control over their tinnitus - those that don't have a more blunted rhythm than those who do. This suggests three important elements. Firstly, that chronic tinnitus has real physiological effects. Secondly, it is caused by certain aspects of tinnitus which would allow for more targeted intervention and thirdly, that if we can measure distress, we can also measure effectiveness of any interventions.” 

It is estimated that 6 million people live with tinnitus in the UK and it can affect people of any age. In a bid to help find a cure for tinnitus, the BTA has spent over £575,000 in 2015 on research studies into the condition including funding Dr Jackson’s work.  

Dr Jackson added: “There is some excitement here about what we have found. Being able to distinguish between the most distressed individuals with tinnitus and those that have adapted more effectively, or have learned to live with their tinnitus would be a huge boon. We can aim to move people from one group to the other, and have an objective, physiological measure of whether the intervention has worked and has increased well-being too.  

“It also suggests real physiological changes in tinnitus patients, and that it is ‘real’. Evidence of physiological change frames tinnitus as being something more than irritation. It is early days though, due to the size and breadth of my study. What’s needed now is funding for a much larger study that can replicate these findings across the board in a more realistic sample.” 

David Stockdale, chief executive of the British Tinnitus Association, said: “When someone first experiences tinnitus it can be very frightening and have an enormous impact on their quality of life. Here at the BTA, we are committed to finding a cure for tinnitus and in that vein we fund a large number of research projects every year. We are really pleased to hear the results of Dr Jackson’s work and hope more research can be done in this area.” 

http://www.tinnitus.org.uk/exciting-new-researchgives-hope-to-tinnitus-patients

 

Very interesting.
I always thought that cortisol has some connection with anxiety, probably tinnitus as well.
I don't think that any medical professional would recommend messing with such an important hormone but there is a product (a supplement basically) called Lactium which is supposed to be a cortisol "blocker".
I might give it a shot, seems quite harmless.

 

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Yes, seems promising! Now, where to get it?

 

Why not let us read that too?

 

It was my understanding that excess cortisol combined with the Acoustic damage resulting in the glutamate rush is what causes the onset of tinnitus. AM101 is what hopes to prevent this.

 

It seems to be know as Casein Decapetite as its real name.

http://www.newhope.com/supply-news-...tide-ingredient-reduces-stress-improves-sleep

iHerb sells it

 

I recently took part in this or a comparable study in the university clinics at my home town Tübingen, Germany.

It consisted of:
Questionnaire
Hearing test
BERA
3x urine (morning, afternoon, night)
3x saliva ('')
fMRT

 

That's a good question.
I asked some random pharmacies, they never heard of it.
I found it on an on-line Greek e-shop, I'm thinking about ordering it.
You will probably find it on Amazon or some other on-line shop in your country.
It is actually hard to find.

 

Not hard to find -

http://www.iherb.com/search?kw=LACTIUM&sug=lactic Just make sure you're looking for Casein Decapeptide.

 

More about cortisol and T
http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/health/mystery-injury-lead-to-tinnitus-torment-for-ian-1-8213954

 

Hi, I tried the site but it is gone. Are you still able to connect to it?

 

No couldn't the BTA must have taken it down...anyhow got my cortisol tested and it was u remarkable...I know it's not as straightforward...

 

Meant unremarkable...

 

BTA does this regularly.

The article is apparently referencing this project: http://research.leedstrinity.ac.uk/...rs(ce9f729f-cfa8-4fee-8404-b0c53973ff02).html

Not clear when the study was done since that page says 2015 but the BTA press release is late 2016 (assuming it was new when posted). There are no publications. In fact, based on his publication record, I wouldn't expect anything earth-shattering: http://research.leedstrinity.ac.uk/...86b-4165-91c2-55c4e97924e2)/publications.html

 

Seems to me like a chicken and egg problem. Something causes the initial T, and then stress rises, and it feeds back into T. Thus it seems that lowering stress won't get rid of the T, but it won't make the T worse either. It's good for getting back to "baseline" T, but not addressing the cause of the T in the first place. Good research, but I'm not holding my breath for it.

 

Why woukd we want a product that blocks cortisol? Doesn't the study show that the body isnt produciing enough cortisol in the first place so surely blocking it is a step in the wrong direction?.

 

One thing that the doctors noticed last month when when git tinitus was something with the cortisal in a blood test