Hyperacusis and Stem Cells?

I’ve read that some people have had stem cell success with regular tinnitus, but if the issue is hyperacusis and the range of hearing is otherwise just fine, there’s just extreme pain and noise sensitivity and tinnitus that increases in tandem with noise exposure, is there any possibility for stem cell treatment success for this specific issue?

I’m not sure what specific area of the ear is affected in this situation, and the range of hearing is fine, but the tinnitus that results from hyperacusis is unbearable. I’m never going to a restaurant again...

Please let me know if you know anything about this or other interesting forms of treatment. I’m a mess with this...

 

Nothing with stem cells for hyperacusis is proven. Any chance you take with stem cells is a shot in the dark.

 

Are stem cells more beneficial for certain types of tinnitus? And is that because it targets a specific area of the hearing unit that isn’t related to hyperacusis? Also any risk involved with trying it?

 

It is all a shot in the dark. That is not a question I can answer.

 

My theory for reactive tinnitus and hyperacusis is that the auditory nerve is damaged and when it receives a sound, it gets more damaged and gives more tinnitus and, for some people, pain.

 

Sounds about right. Just had my second acoustic trauma (MRI) and steroids aren't helping at all. It makes sense if the synapses are already dead. I also think the damage threshold is lower - I was getting progressively worse even without loud sound exposure. Driving (an electric car) would make my ears ache slightly and I would get that fullness feeling.

 

If you take corticosteroids, the feeling of pressure, inflammation etc should subside, and the perception of hearing quality change, and normally one knows what's the actual condition of hearing after like 4 weeks.

Anyway, corticosteroids are no miracle really, for hyperacusis or tinnitus... one has to try which one works best. For me it's Deflazacort, although in theory Prednisone is more powerful, so I guess it depends on every person..

As for stem cell treatment, there was a thread on these forums about people who went to Thailand for stem cell treatment with, if my memory serves well, no improvement at all. And it was expensive.

 

I know of at least 3 people who went to Thailand for stem cells and had improvement. I will go to Anova IRM in Germany for stem cell secretome treatment. It's €20k, expensive, but my health is more important than buying a Model 3 that we were planning on getting this year.

I am on 3 days of Dexamathasone IV, then I will switch to oral Prednisolone and taper. The last time I took Prednisolone it did not improve my hearing, but it did kill my 16 kHz whooshing tinnitus. Same thing now, I can't hear the 16 kHz, but unfortunately all the others are there. Especially annoying are the reactive ones. Everything beeps or crackles at me now.

 

Please tell us how the stem cell treatment goes.

 

Will do!

 

May I ask some questions please: Are their stories public somehow? Do you know them personally? What kind of hyperacusis do they have? How they got it?

I am asking because 3 people with hyperacusis who have improved using stem cells is really great news. And gives us a lot of hope...

 

It wasn't hyperacusis, it was tinnitus, you can find more info in this thread:

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/my-trip-to-bangkok-stem-cell-treatment-comments.1891/

My thinking is that stem cells, or rather their secreted neurotrophic factors, can repair cochlear damage (obviously the effect is limited and is probably more likely to work if it's synapse damage only). Once you repair that, your tinnitus and hyperacusis may subside.

Kind of off topic, but I can make a mixture of Neurotrophin-3 and that slow release gel Liberman et al. used in their 2017 paper on healing synapse damage. I have access to a biolab with a proper cleanroom, etc., as I used to be a researcher and still have contacts there. This would probably be my last resort. I also personally know some otologists and ENTs, at least a few of them would be willing to do this off the books (the intratympanic injection). The trouble is that this study was done on mice and I may just injure my ears even more as there is no safety data on humans.

 

I would like to see some more scientific data before i tried stem cells.

At least 3-5 people in an experiment with:

• Detailed specification of person's subcategory of tinnitus
• Hearing improvement 250-8000 Hz dB
• Minimum tinnitus masking level dB
• THI

I cannot find any larger clinical studies for tinnitus/hearing loss with stem cells? Why is that? Nobody believes in it or would it be far too expansive to perform?

 

I just got exosome injections behind my ears for better access to the facial nerve branch. I get sharp pains in these nerves every now and and then for the past few years since my ears were damaged so I'm hoping it will help the tinnitus & hyperacusis. Nothing to report yet as I literally just had it done.

He is also doing them intratympanically and said he helped someone recently with hyperacusis to a good degree who got it from a head injury.

*Exosomes are different than stem cells.

 

Fingers crossed for you! Animal studies show that stem cell exosomes do indeed protect or even restore hearing.

If you don't mind, could you tell us what clinic this was? And were these adipose tissue SC exosomes or some other kind of SC exosomes? Autologous or allogeneic? The reason I am asking is because I will be doing a similar treatment very soon (in Germany).

 

Sure, it's Dr. Ed Park from Recharge Biomedical. He doesn't claim to "cure" anything but he's always willing try different treatments and methods. I've known him for almost 10 years (before I even had tinnitus). He's in the US in Costa Mesa, California but he also sometimes travels to NY, Florida and Hawaii. He has a physical office but did my injections at my home which was super convenient.

https://www.rechargebiomedical.com/

 

Thank you! Do you know what kind of MSCs were used to produce the exosomes? And what kind of concentrations they used?

Any improvement?

 

I'm not really sure how those were produced but I think they are all generally produced the same way for the most part. I have a tiny improvement in my hyperacusis as I get each time I either do this or stem cells. Tinnitus is slightly better but that fluctuates on its own so I'm not really allocating that to the exosomes.

 

Oh wow, that's good to hear that your hyperacusis has improved! Stem cell exosomes can be harvested from different cells, hence my question.

If I understand correctly, you have had actual stem cells administered, too? Was it IV or local and has it improved your hearing (if you have any hearing loss)?

Thanks! I will get exosomes + other cell secretions administered in 4 weeks.

 

I had IV stem cells. I usually notice the improvement after about 2 weeks or so - but as mentioned, it's minimal.

 

@Cal18, how much IV did you get before you noticed improvement? Are you feeling better now as time has passed? Also, would you mind telling me what was the cost of the treatment?

Thanks!

 

Is the improvement permanent or temporary?

How is your tinnitus now, and have the stem cells improved it much?

 

The stem cells didn't do much for the tinnitus (perhaps for the reactivity a little bit) but it had small permanent improvements for hyperacusis every time I did it.

 

That's great that it helps with the hyperacusis. Tinnitus healing would be even better.

What dose of stem cells do you get each time? It's adipose cells you get, right? The ones from your own body?

 

Can you give me an update on how you are doing as I was thinking of going to get stem cells/exosomes for tinnitus/hyperacusis?

 

I'm most likely going to get stem cells soon. I have severe tinnitus and pain hyperacusis which comes and goes but it's very bad when I do have it. Habituation is happening with the tinnitus but this pain is something else.

Hoping the stem cells will help with the pain some.

 

Have you done more research on stem cell/exosome clinics?

I've been researching this a lot recently since my recent setback and am planning on going for some treatment somewhere soon.

 

Is this loudness hyperacusis or pain hyperacusis that you saw a benefit for?

 

I get the exact same feeling from electric cars - literally any model. I have owned and tested many from the cheapest to the most premium luxury EVs.

My left ear is much more affected than the right, and it causes temporary hearing loss.

 

It was just high frequency noise really, coming from either the motor or the inverter. I am not sensitive to that anymore.