Don't Read Tinnitus Research

This morning I was reading several studies done on structural brain changes in tinnitus patients. As you can expect, it was a very depressing thing to read.

While some studies seem to either have inconsistent or unverifiable findings, it all seems to talk about reduction in grey matter. We seem to lose grey matter left and right. The right inferior colliculos, the left hippocampus, the ventralmedial prefrontal cortex, the primary auditory cortex.

And if you're depressed, that leads to even more reduction in places like the hippocampus. I'm honestly about ready to give up on life. Losing grey matter is serious and permanent. There is no fixing that. All that loss of function because the brain doesn't want to be without a certain hearing frequency.

I have to wonder just how much worse my learning and memory because of this loss of tissue. I'm seriously angry at this. The brain compensates for this loss with new connections to other regions. Areas like the nucleus accumbens appear to have hyperactivity to try and maintain the functions of the areas now lost.

In order to cease the noise, this carefully construction reorganized brain needs to be antagonized. We need to basically go to the areas trying to compensate and cool the hyperactivity in hopes that they carry out only their base functions while the compensatory functions are ceased and thus lost forever.

Only by antagonizing the brain will this condition go away.

 

I agree with the title of your thread: Don't read tinnitus research. I gave up on this many years ago because it can make one feel depressed. Instead, I accepted tinnitus and tried my best to live my life and get whatever treatment I could. Similarly, I am not one for going to tinnitus seminars or conferences. Whilst the people at these events are trying to do a good and noble thing. How many of them actually know and understands tinnitus? Unless they have personal experience of it then they can never fully understand it in my opinion.

The information that you gathered from reading the research literature on tinnitus, only served to make you feel worse about the condition. It is for this reason, I believe it's best to give this kind of information a wide berth and get along with your life. The only person that can help you is you and whatever help you can get from doctors, Hearing Therapists and Audiologists regarding treatment.

Michael

 

We lose gray matter as we age, it’s part of the aging process. Presbycusis is also part of the aging process, so it would not be surprising to see individuals with hearing damage who have less gray matter than younger individuals.

http://www.ajnr.org/content/23/8/1327

Or did you find studies that show individuals with hearing damage have less gray matter than healthy individuals who are the exact same age.

 

I didn't read about participants age. I understand we lose neurons as we age but tinnitus patients lose even more neurons in an abnormal way. The brain is broken and unfixable. Some areas we aren't sure of like the thalamus or corpus collosum. In general we only lose function and gain nothing back. The brain basically destroys itself for the sake of keeping fake noise generation going.

Then you get depressed and that shrinks your hippocampus even more. This entire condition only takes and gives nothing of meaning. Hard to think listening to loud music would lead to so much brain atrophy.

I'll never know how much learning and memory function I have lost to this. Or what other emotion functions are gone because the limbic system is broken and dysfunctional.

 

This is the reason why that saying: A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing is true. I am a positive thinking person and don't believe for a second anything in the reasearch papers that you've read is true. It is all based on theory and pure conjecture and won't depress me for a moment. However, there are people that believe whatever is written on headed paper and has an official stamp on it from some research faciility, to be absolute truth. This can be especially damaging to those new to tinnitus and if you're a negative thinking person and going through a difficult time accepting tinnitus. One can do without reading this. A tinnitus veteran such as myself will not troubled by what has been written. Try not to beat yourself up over it. and live your life.

Michael

 

They are based on imagine studies, fMRI procedures that can examine changes in brain structure and abnormal increases in blood flow. They are methodologically sound. Not all changes have been verified but they are there.

 

Live your life @Gl0w0ut I have had tinnitus for 22 years and can assure you (hope) my grey matter is still intact. See your ENT doctor, hearing therapist, Audiologist to get the help you need and leave the research reading alone because you don't need it. You're young get out there and live your life...

Michael

 

I have and all have been worthless, focusing solely on anxiety and depression and not tinnitus.

You still have grey matter, just significantly less than people without tinnitus.

 

As I said. It is all theory and conjecture and I don't believe for a moment that I am less impaired than if I didn't have tinnitus. Think positive and leave the research reading alone. I done the same as you 22 years ago and read the tinnitus books and journals for the latest research into tinnitus. I'm sure @fishbone will tell you the same. Forget the reading you don't need it.

Michael

 

Your mentality needs to be changed. Simple as that, you seem like a smart young man, but you will never lean towards habituation with all the oppression you put on yourself. Why read such journals? It does you no good and simply makes you obsess even more. Being SO negative only takes you down in life and it never takes you up.

Seek some counseling and talk to a therapist and help yourself, tinnitus is horrible but it life can go on. Tinnitus will not be cured today, so we have a choice. 1. Live with it and move forward. 2. Let it RUN our lives for us. I am in number 1 and thrive in my life, even though my tinnitus is LOUDER that majority of the people.

 

You're looking at one side of the coin. The other side of the coin is that you can increase gray matter through mindfulness meditation, among other things. That's been proven.

You can take brain training courses, such as BrainHQ. You can avoid eating excess sugar and fats, particularly sugar, which acts as an inflammatory in the brain as well as the body.

You can promote neurogenesis with intermittent fasting, unless you're past the age of 70. The BBC documentary "Eat, Fast, and Live Longer" explains this remarkable development. I think it's somewhere around the 40-minute timeline, but I'm going from memory so you might need to start watching from the 35-minute timelime.

Eat, Fast & Live Longer BBC Documentary

In the first months or year, tinnitus can feel like a hopeless situation. It isn't. You're just going to have to work harder than the average person at keeping your brain strong and healthy.

 

@Gl0w0ut

I advise you to listen to @fishbone He has 30 years experience and is a master of knowing how to manage tinnitus. His knowledge with the condition cannot be learnt from a book....

 

In life Michael, we can ONLY help those that WANT to be helped. Even if you put the pot of GOLD in front of people, unless they want it....it's useless.....

I see this mentality in forums and outside forums and I extend a lending hand, if they choose to not take the advice, I wish them luck and move on.....

 

My view
If you want to research something be prepared for what you might find good or not so good.
I leave it to the experts.
Love glynis x

 

Beethoven was deaf, Thomas Edison had a hearing impairment, blind people, these are not brain damaged people and neither are the millions of normal functioning tinnitus sufferers. Hearing doesn't require thought any more than breathing.

 

Neurogensis only occurs in adults in and around the hippocampus. That post grey matter in the limbic system isn't coming back.

 

You just don't get it. Grey matter reduction is serious, as most cases of brain atrophy aren't reversible. The brain compensates by making new connections but it's not the same.

I'm not giving up, not by any means. One path if I'm lucky enough to get into graduate school is to research tinnitus. My perspective, however, diverges from current researchers. Most researchers want to try and trick or convince the brain to cease the noise. I want to antagonize the pathway so it cannot maintain the noise.

The brain has made up its mind, so we have to force it to change and prevent its homeostatic measures from kicking in.

As for my feelings, in general the tinnitus isn't a big deal. I haven't accepted or surrendered to it, but rather become numb as I lack the energy to resist. This morning I was riding a depressive episode wave after failing an exam I felt prepared for.

 

People who are dead are by clinical definition brain damaged.

 

If the studies did not examine age, than how did they indicate the gray matter loss was from tinnitus and not from the normal aging process? Unless they kept all variables constant (same age range, no hearing loss, no anxiety, no stress, some with tinnitus and some without) I am unsure how they can prove tinnitus is the sole cause.

There are so many factors of what can diminish gray matter. Even playing action video games may decrease gray matter:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/amp/31883

Found two more causes of decreased gray matter: watching pornography and chronic pot smoking.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/1874574?utm_source=Silverchair Information Systems&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=JAMAPsychiatry:OnlineFirst05/28/2014#Discussion

http://www.iflscience.com/brain/chronic-pot-smoking-associated-brain-changes/

So if you feel the need to panic about tinnitus decreasing gray matter, there is likely a long list of other things you should probably avoid.

 

They recorded age, I just didn't read it.

All of these studies compare the brains of tinnitus patients with healthy patients who have hearing loss but no tinnitus. The only real difference between the groups was the presence or absence of tinnitus. If tinnitus patients showed consistent brain abnormalities compared to healthy controls, it suggests reductions and alterations in grey matter.

 

Did the study look at anxiety levels? Stress, depression and anxiety can all decrease gray matter. It’s kind of a chicken and the egg scenario, which caused the gray matter decrease: the ringing noise itself or the tinnitus anxiety?

 

Wow that is excellent!!

 

Assuming it even happens. My idea of tinnitus treatment will certainly conflict with what medical science advocates today.

You can't expect the brain to give up on a signal it reorganizes itself for. You have to take it away from the brain.

 

Believe in yourself. No one can take that away from you.

 

Don't research tinnitus. It will depress you.

Here's a synopsis of the study to depress you.

THANKS! I'M FEELING BETTER NOW.

 

I disagree, I have been following tinnitus research for ages, I mean I don't permanently look at it all the time, but I find it fascinating and it gives me hope.

Somebody said "tomorrow is another day closer to a cure/treatment, but another day closer to your death", I understand and appreciate the "accept and live your life comments", I live with tinnitus and I don't suffer as much as I did, but I find it actually fascinating how far they've come and I like to know what's going on. I don't cling on hope and count the days, but I have hope and you'll accept tinnitus with or without hope. I choose the former.

 

Exactly... "Thanks for the warning Glowout" *rolls eyes.

 

I'd rather know the inconvenient truth then believe a comforting lie.

 

Actually ,I read somewhere in here that People with tinnitus have more of gray matter than normal People... Can't find it now to show you... So, please stop thinking about this and live your life... Brain is a powerful thing...

 

Here:
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/people-with-tinnitus-have-more-grey-matter.3931/