Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) for Tinnitus

This study will test the safety and effectiveness of deep brain stimulation (DBS) for patients with a big or very big problem with tinnitus (a sensation of noise in the head).

First received: November 13, 2013
Last updated: February 3, 2014
Last verified: February 2014

http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01988688

 

J Neurosurg. 2013 Jan;118(1):192-4. doi: 10.3171/2012.9.JNS12594. Epub 2012 Oct 19.
A stroke of silence: tinnitus suppression following placement of a deep brain stimulation electrode with infarction in area LC.
Larson PS, Cheung SW.
Author information

• Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, California 94143-0112, USA. larsonp@neurosurg.ucsf.edu

Abstract
The authors report on a case of tinnitus suppression following deep brain stimulation (DBS) for Parkinson disease. A perioperative focal vascular injury to area LC, a locus of the caudate at the junction of the head and body of the caudate nucleus, is believed to be the neuroanatomical correlate. A 56-year-old woman underwent surgery for implantation of a DBS lead in the subthalamic nucleus to treat medically refractory motor symptoms. She had comorbid tinnitus localized to both ears. The lead trajectory was adjacent to area LC. Shortly after surgery, she reported tinnitus suppression in both ears. Postoperative MRI showed focal hyperintensity of area LC on T2-weighted images. At 18 months, tinnitus localized to the ipsilateral ear remained completely silenced, and tinnitus localized to the contralateral ear was substantially suppressed due to left area LC injury. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of a discrete injury to area LC that resulted in bilateral tinnitus suppression. Clinicians treating patients with DBS may wish to include auditory phantom assessment as part of the neurological evaluation.

 

Damn. Yet another possible treatment area from which I will be excluded because I have a metal clip in my brain, due to a ruptured aneurysm. I know I shouldn't feel cranky about this, given I was darn lucky to survive the cerebral hemorrhage and stroke. But many of these treatments (including electro-magnetic stimulation) will not take patients with metal brain implants.

Wonder if anyone else on this board has this issue -- or has had a stroke? I may post a separate thread on it. My doctors think that while my stroke (1999) did not cause my tinnitus, the area of brain death it left may be making it more difficult for me to habituate.

 

Welp, of course hyperacusis is included in the exclusion criteria

 

Ah this is what i just read and completely forgot it was already posted... But since they were able to completly get rid of tinnitus on 2 patients with parkinsons when stimulating the caudate mucleus.. Then this is good news right? And there now gonna do a trial on it too see if it gets rid of others
T too when stimulated?

 

That's exactly what they're doing. This seems geared only for folks with extreme tinnitus.

 

Oh ok but extreme or not extreme if its gonna get rid of it then it should be used on everyone eventually!!!!

 

Why only people who have it real bad? Serious side effects?

 

I guess tinnitus can be cured, it depends how far you're willing to go lol.

 

if that cured my t i would do it

 

or how much you are willing to pay..

 

My tinnitus drives me crazy sometimes but having that inserted into my brain... I'd have to think about it.

It's not like it's unsafe, but it's not without it's cons. The tech is coming along so hopefully we get smaller and smaller and less invasive devices.

 

Well if it meant no more abnormal hearing and no ringing, I'd happily lie on a table.

And science is progressing rapidly in the hearing department. They've developed a implant smaller than the size of a penny and wirelessly recharges that is going to essentially make the outer cochlear implant obsolete. It's already been surgically implanted in patients with complete deafness with resounding success.

 

Hey man, maybe you should change your mood from doubtful then Nothing to be doubtful from this kind of news imo.

 

Probably the extraordinary cost and the possibility of death from meningoencephalitis.

 

Tinnitus relates, though the article does not discuss tinnitus specifically. Quite a sci-fi future we are heading into...

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304914904579435592981780528#printMode

 

There's a clinical trail of deep brain stimulation for people with severe chronic tinnitus. It's being conducted by the University of California at San Francisco. The study is currently enrolling participants.

http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01988688?term=tinnitus&recr=Open&rank=21

 

I keep coming across this and to me it really seems like this could be a cure? Since they say there starting trials now and it ends 2019 will we not know any results until 2019? Confused

 

Just got rejected for clinical trial using Deep Brain Stimulation to control Tinnitus volume. Hey, having had a brain hemorrhage knocks me out of the race. Oh well, I'm alive and happy and not starving in Africa or Haiti or in a cancer ward doing chemo.
Interesting article in N.Y. Times today about implantation of stimulation device to suppress epilepsy seizures. When the solution for Tinnitus arrives, it's going to be cybernetic.

 

I for one, will welcome our new cyborg overlords.

 

Definitely.

 

Sound Wave, Sent you a personal message. Thank You.

 

I know a dude who has had this procedure for something else. He didnt have T though. He actually got temporary T and H from another incident later in life but is all good now.

 

What is it about? Do you have link?
Greets Tom

 

I think it takes time to follow all these 10 participants, especially if they don't get the procedure done at the same time. It also states that they will test different settings on the device etc. I guess that could take a while. Too bad none of those 10 persons are on TT and can give us some updates.

 

I recently seen a very interesting documentary following the life of a Parkinsons patient and how far brain surgery has come over the years,starting from labotomys to DBS stimulation over the years is considered an amazing feat in medical technology and research for obvious reasons.When they first meet the parkinsons patient he can barely move and has to sit in the exact same position for hours as his body control and strength was completely depleted.The interviewer decides to meet with the patient one year after he recieves the operation to fit the DBS stimulaters and the difference is dramatic to say the least.The patient now has full control over his body and was walking around his house cleaning and making tea for the interviewer and his camera crew,he appeared to be a completely normal human being although he did jerk and twitch on occasion his progress was amazing.He then proceeded to show the interviewer the device,which consisted of two protruding electrodes on either side of his skull and a long wire running down his neck under his skin to a battery box located at his collar bone.Now this had worked miracles for the Parkinsons patient but do I believe its practical for the T patient?No not really to be honest,the procedure is extremely invasive for a start and reqires the patient to have these protrudeing electrodes pointing out through the skull,which for anyone conscious of their appearance is a no go.Also the occasional jerk the patient displayed wasnt due fully to the Parkinsons they stated,it was more because of the electrode stimulateing his brain that caused the sudden unexplained jerk.Now even though this was happening for the Parkinsons patient in his situation the pros seriously outweigied the cons of the procedure,sure he may have to have these huge electrodes sitting on his skull for the rest of his life and have the occasional twitch and jerk for no reason but at least he had regained mobility and the ability to look after himself once again and go walking and visit family.For a T patient the pros of this procedure wouldnt necessarily outweigh the cons,fair enough they were stimulateing a particular part of his brain and this could be the reason for the unexplained jerks but it was stated in the documentery that jerks and other side effects are quite common from the procedure.He has to make regular visits to the hospital to check the device and its functionality and I just cant see this being a viable procedure for T patients,in my opinion the cons dont outweigh the pros and I believe this procedure is only truely intended for extreme neurological conditions,T not being one of them.Just an observation and an opinion.Best wishes Bill.

 

If DBS works for severe hyperacusis, would the cons still outweigh the pros? As I said before, I got a friend with a DBS device and he lives a completely normal life. I would do this procedure in a heartbeat if it worked.

 

Ditto. If I got the money, do the procedure.

 

Oh yeah big time I agree Id do it in a second if given the chance and that would only be if it quaranteed to cure the condition but I just dont see this becoming big if you get me,or even worth it,also as with everything T related H is in the exclusion criteria so this isnt to benefit H.VNS will basically do the same job but much much less invasive and risky.I just dont see this as a practical treatment for T and I dont believe it will become the norm in T treatments.Maybe if the implants became much much smaller then it may be considered a more practical treatment option but as of yet I dont believe so.I just see it as a treatment option for extreme neurological conditions like parkinsons and other similar conditions.Im glad they are testing this method on people but I dont believe it will be commonly used or used at all for that matter in the future,I hope Im wrong.