Poll: What Do You Think Is Responsible for Your Tinnitus — Ear, Brain or Nerve Conflict?

I know that much of the research suggest that tinnitus is only related to hair cell damage in the first few weeks and then gets to the brain because of lost nerve input.

Despite that I very much perceive my tinnitus to be some sort of cell damage in my inner ear. My best guess would be that I have broken outer hair cells together with damage in amplifying part of the ear. The amplifying part have a consistent leakage which leads to tinnitus but the damaged cell structures also amplifies wrong external frequencies (the reactive part).

The reason why I can clearly hear my high pitched unstable tinnitus on an airplane where it is around 80 dB is not that my tinnitus is 80 dB. It is because my tinnitus winds up to almost every external sound. I just find that so hard to be related to the brain.

Happy new years!

 

GREAT poll @David S! I am not sure of mine, but I think mine comes from hair cell damage as my job is on the loud side and I have worked the same job for years.

I don't have the winding up to external sounds you have. Have you had that since the first day you got tinnitus?

 

Cochlear hair cell/ribbon synapse damage causes the auditory nerve to have less input to the brain - and less input causes the brain to generate phantom noise (tinnitus).

 

Current research indicates that the tinnitus you have is entirely perceived in the brain as a result of hearing loss, and other factors like TMD and low GABA.

Hyperacusis defined as (noise induced pain) may be peripheral based on Johns Hopkins research on Outer Hair Cell nerve fibers being the cochlea's noise receptors, but something is missing as researchers in the near future may end up classifying different types of hyperacusis and tinnitus.

 

I think the Devil is causing my tinnitus.

 

Yes, pretty much from the first day but in good periods it gets less reactive. If I am exposed to too much noise it gets more reactive and can stay so for weeks/months.

 

Then only god can help us. Keep praying.

 

For a pure tone tinnitus I like this explanation model even though it's difficult to understand way only some develop tinnitus from lost input.

My tinnitus can also be modulated if i bite hard. That could possibly not affect my auditory cortex direct. It must be input from nerves misfiring to cortex? Some kind of shortcuts between nerves in the same alignments.

The inner ear got a built-in amplifier. The potential is around 70-100 mV with just a tiny membrane to separate the two. For me it seams quite reasonable that a leakage in the membrane could create all kinds of sounds. If we could heal this membrane or lower/higher the amplifying potential. That could be an alternative way forward for hearing issues and tinnitus besides from trying to generate new hair cells.

 

The somatic influence (amplification) of my tinnitus (left ear) by pressure at various places of my scalp or e.g. by lateral displacement of my lower jaw is so pronounced that I can no longer believe in the theory of "underemployment" of the brain due to destroyed hair cells.

I voted for b)

I also wonder why so many participants voted for hair cell damage here, even if they had no noise trauma or contact with obviously ototoxic drugs. In addition, hair cell damage is unlikely with age-appropriate hearing.

 

For my case I voted C because I know it's the brain. You see I was never around loud noise, and went to several audiologists who said I have no hearing loss. Even though I'm not like most tinnitus sufferers, I do mirror to them.

But I do believe it is both, and when a researcher connects the two, maybe then we can get someplace. Hi five to MuteButton.

 

I voted nerve. The way my body influences sounds in my ears is too crazy for just hearing loss.

 

I agree with everyone. Hearing loss tinnitus can happen quickly from loud noise, toxic medications, or injury that affects hair cells.

Injury could include hearing cells and/or other sensory causes.

There's thousands other conditions that have complex natures to why tinnitus happens. The sensory jaw/mouth/teeth that contains nerves, muscles and joints and possible association interaction from other places is high on the list.

Tinnitus relates to sensory disruption and it's not always just hair cells. The brain doesn't like sensory stress .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensory_neuron

 

Greg: Possibly we are two very special somatic exceptions, which can produce a particularly loud tinnitus by pressure or tension at structures of the head.

 

@Tinniger --- This is what I think causes most somatic tinnitus.

The vertebral arteries in the neck can be compressed by the vertebrae when they traverse. Arthritis, dental treatment, chiropractic manipulation and stressed forward head bending (forward and to side where there's is lower height). This usually happens happen while sitting and causes potential precipitants of neurological symptoms.

According to Bogduk 1986, compression can be due to anomalies of the origin of the vertebral artery, an anomalous course between the fascicles of either longus coli or scalenus anterior, and bands of deep cervical fascia. All of these mechanisms would presumably be associated with blockage of flow on turning the neck to one side or the other. It a substantial asymmetry in vertebral circulation -- one being much smaller, or one being absent or terminating in PICA.

It is presently considered a problem when there is mechanical compression during head rotation due to muscular and tendinous insertions, osteophytes, and arthritis around the C1-C2 level. As the vertebral arteries enter the vertebrae around C4, it can also occur at lower levels. As about 50% of c spine rotation occurs around C1, this is likely the reason for the predominance at this level. Araz Server et al (2018) reported reduced flow in the ipsilateral vertebral artery when the head was both hyperextended and rotated as seen in dental offices.

There's no doubt that muscle spasms and then forward head posture affect the vertebral artery, the occipital nerve(s) and the entire spine which can cause loss of normal lordosis and is much more affected by degenerative spine disease, incorrect posture and such things as having one leg shorter than the other. The scalene, SCM, trapezius and lower back muscles can also have involvement.

 

Damn if I know.

I definitely have some hearing damage, it shows on the audiogram.

Posture, especially neck position affects the T, and I can modulate it by jaw movements.

Xanax and other meds can bring it down or amplify it, so it's in the brain, too.

All 3?

I believe that hair cell damage is the root cause, however, and the posture/brain things are just consequences.

 

I assume that we will only be able to answer this question when a high-resolution imaging has been created....