Tinnitus May Not Originate In The Ear Study Finds

Tinnitus may not originate in the ear - NewsFix.ca

The brain may generate ‘phantom’ noise, giving rise to the symptoms of tinnitus, say researchers in Germany.

The brain may generate ‘phantom’ noise, giving rise to the symptoms of tinnitus, say researchers in Germany.
Tinnitus can be a chronic and very distressing condition. It involves the experience of buzzing and ringing sounds in the ear, even though there is no obvious source for the noise. Sometimes the cause is an ear infection, or wax in the ear, but sometimes there is no obvious reason for the sounds.

Doctors at the University of Tuebingen, Germany, now wonder if the symptoms of tinnitus may originate in the brain itself, rather than the ear. They looked at a group of 14 patients with intractable, chronic tinnitus, and tried the effect of blocking off activity in the areas of the brain concerned with hearing. They did this with a method called focused magnetic stimulation. Most patients experienced at least some relief when the region known as the left temporoparietal cortex was stimulated.

The researchers think this suggests that tinnitus may be like ‘phantom’ pain, which is often experienced by people who have had a limb amputated. The brain continues to generate false pain signals, as if they came from the absent limb. It may be that with tinnitus, the brain generates false sound signals in a similar way. This was only a small study, but it points towards a fruitful direction for further research for those suffering from tinnitus.

 

Seems to be that this study or one very similar is not that new after all

http://speech-language-pathology-audiology.advanceweb.com/Article/Focused-Magnetic-Stimulation-for-Tinnitus.aspx

Focused Magnetic Stimulation for Tinnitus
Unexplained and severe tinnitus can be reduced temporarily in some patients by "jamming" the electrical activity of the brain with focused magnetic stimulation, according to a preliminary study (Annals of Neurology,December 2002). The results confirm that some phantom sounds are generated by abnormal activity in the brain itself.

"Controlled clinical trials are now necessary to evaluate whether this method can permanently reduce and thus cure tinnitus," said senior author Christian Gerloff, MD, of the University of Tuebingen in Germany.

Many people experience tinnitus, defined as the perception of sound in the absence of an obvious source, at some point in their lives. For most of us, it is a temporary and benign oddity with a host of causes, such as ear infection, blockage of the ear canal, or medications such as antibiotics.

For more than 40 million Americans, however, tinnitus is an ongoing problem. It is especially prevalent among the elderly and those with some degree of hearing loss. According to the American Tinnitus Association, an estimated 12 million people in the United States seek medical attention for the disorder, and approximately 1 million are affected to the point of disability.

In some cases a mechanical sound source, such as a damaged artery or other blood vessel disorder, can be identified and treated; but for most forms of tinnitus, there is little effective treatment.

"Recently, neuroscientists have brought forward a new concept that postulates similarities between tinnitus and chronic pain," said Dr. Gerloff. "According to this concept, sounds that only the patient can detect might be some sort of 'phantom' auditory perception similar to phantom pain."

This theory suggests that abnormal brain activity is creating the illusion of sound in the absence of acoustic stimuli.

In order to investigate this possibility, Dr. Gerloff and his colleagues used focused magnetic stimulation to temporarily interfere with the activity of specific brain regions in 14 patients with intractable, chronic tinnitus. They focused their attention on auditory association areas, regions of the brain known to specialize in the processing of auditory input.

When researchers stimulated the left temporoparietal cortex, an area of the brain that contains several auditory association areas, tinnitus was temporarily reduced in most patients. There was no statistically significant reduction when other brain areas were stimulated.

Only eight of the 14 patients experienced tinnitus relief during more than one of the five stimulations of the left temporoparietal cortex, the authors noted. One patient reported a slight temporary worsening of the tinnitus, suggesting that the situation is not as simple as the nerve cells in the temporoparietal cortex being the source of all tinnitus sounds.

However, the findings do provide clues for further research, Dr. Gerloff said. "Knowing that these brain areas are functionally relevant for tinnitus makes them a primary target for modern therapeutic approaches based on brain stimulation methods."