Questions on TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation)

Supposed to talk to a Dr. James Fugedy in Atlanta, GA. about the TMS. As I live in North Carolina first conversation will be by phone. I know nothing about this procedure. I have done the Neurmonics, which I am wearing as I do this. Was shown on GMA and also endorsed by the ATA. I purchased the product. Was in excess of $6,000. Usually wear 2 to 3 hrs. a day, but this is 7 yrs. later. From 2013 until part of 2014 I did Acupuncture. He had studied in China for 4 yrs. Many, many session and very expensive. Sleeping pills at night, something for anxiety during the day. Sure everyone understands "get so tired". After trying to get this on here last night - I gave up. Having a hard time figuring out how this works. Don't think it went anywhere, but a good friend I have met is helping me out. When I get so down, as today, although I look outside and see beautiful greenery, and the tops of the Blue Ridge Mtns. I don't feel part of it. I must get my Bible, read as tears roll down my face and try to understand why my family has all passed and I am left here alone with T. Would appreciate any info. on the TMS.

Thanks in advance,
ibelievetoo

 

It has been used for people with depression in the past but I don't think it has any long term improvement for tinnitus...lots of love glynis

 

Magnetism can also be used to stimulate electrical activity in the brain. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), which involves a magnetic coil placed near the head, has received attention from scientists as a possible tinnitus treatment. One recent study carried out in Turkey [3] involved 75 people with tinnitus divided into five groups of 15. In Groups 1 and 2, participants received repetitive TMS (rTMS), given at two different frequencies. Group 3 received the same rTMS as Group 1 plus paroxetine, a drug commonly used as an antidepressant. Group 4 had paroxetine only. Group 5 was a control group receiving sham rTMS.

The researchers used the THI and the Tinnitus Severity Index (TSI), plus other scales, to measure the level of tinnitus before treatment, and one and six months after. The THI and TSI scores improved after treatment in all groups, except the control group. The differences between the four groups receiving active treatment were found to be not statistically significant. A few study participants reported treatment side effects, but these were mild and short-term. The study authors concluded that rTMS and paroxetine, used together or separately, have potential for tinnitus treatment.

The number in each study group is, however, small and further research with more patients (including larger control groups) over a longer period of time is now necessary. There have been previous studies with paroxetine which have not shown it to be effective for tinnitus.

TMS has also recently been studied in an RCT [4] by a team in the USA. They gave 35 people with tinnitus rTMS every day for 10 days, with a further 35 receiving sham treatment. Their primary measure of tinnitus was the Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI), which they used with their participants immediately after treatment and then at intervals over the next six months. Over half of those receiving TMS (56%) were considered to have benefited from the treatment, compared with just 22% of the control group. While the results from this well conducted study are encouraging, the researchers point out that this is a small study and that many questions regarding TFI remain unanswered. They want to see bigger studies that address these questions.

Sadly, we do not have full access to a recent rTMS study conducted by Korean researchers [5] but it appears that working with 14 patients (no control group) they found an improvement in THI using one frequency level but not with another.

Could electrical stimulation, not of the brain itself but of the vagus nerves, offer a way forward? A Finnish team has completed a very preliminary study [6], in which they gave transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) to seven people with tinnitus and to eight people without the condition. From previous research, they were aware that certain types of electrical activity in the brain (beta-band and gamma-band activity) is usually greater in those who have tinnitus. They confirmed this to be the case in their own study. The administration of tVNS was found by the researchers to ‘modulate’ (i.e. exert a controlling influence) on beta and gamma-band activity. They did not study the effects of tVNS on tinnitus symptoms but their findings suggest that tVNS does deserve further investigation.

 

Michael Mosley has areas of his brain turned...

 

Here is some information from a victim of this treatment, who is not mentioned in any clinical trial results
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...atments-rtms-tdcs-tacs.326/page-5#post-175477
They made him sign papers to prevent him, should T gets worse, to sue them. That is a red flag right there. A hyperactive area can't be calmed down by stimulating it with anything, not even with low frequencies. That's common sense.
In US the treatment is approved for depression only, but that's another story; in depression stimulation could be useful, cause there is a "hypoactivity", not a "hyperactivity", like in T.

 

My ears have whistled on a couple of tones since I was a kid, though never loud enough to disturb me (or anyone else!).
One day, aged about 30, I saw a cranial osteopath on another matter. Happened to mention the T. He pressed gently on my sacrum - and the noise stopped. Being of a scientific turn of mind, I asked if he could bring it back.
"I am a healer and would rather not, but I can" he said. And he did, with another gentle press. "Okay? Let's turn it off again". Away it went - for twenty years! House moves have intervened, but I have no doubt the genius guy could fix it again.