Transcranial Stimulation Treatments (rTMS & tDCS & tACS)

Are you sure it's tDCS and not Neurofeedback? In tDCS, I have never heard of there being any feedback / reward tones. In Neurofeedback those tones are common.

 

You are absolutely right - it's Neurofeedback. I must have been drunk when I wrote that.

 

With the Deanxit I have a hard time hearing my tinnitus - even in the semi-quiet room they put you in during Neurofeedback (I hear the electrical buzz now, although House is rather quiet, TV is playing in the background). I still have bouts of fleeting tinnitus (today 3 episodes of them, both left and right ear), electrical hiss in both ears, with higher frequency beeping in my right ear.

I still need white noise to sleep. I haven't heard the low buzzing tinnitus for a while now. I also have a reactive component (when I put the dishwasher on or my MacBook starts its fans up).

To answer your question: I don't feel the Neurofeedback is doing much, but maybe there isn't much to be gained. I should stop Deanxit and see how bad it becomes again.

Googling Deanxit it turns out it's not available, for example, in the US, because Deanxit was produced in Denmark but it is not on the market there. I believe the US has a rule that if a certain drug is not on the market where it was conceived, they are not allowing it.

Deanxit explains this as: we just never asked approval for the Danish market (and for other markets they are not being sold). I don't know if that's true or why they didn't apply for these markets.

Keep in mind that the Brai3n doctor that put me on Deanxit also wanted me to take Clonazepam, but I'm not taking that one.

 

Just to add that in a Facebook group there have been two recent cases where the OmniPEMF Neorhythm triggered tinnitus. All, be careful with that one.

 

BRNZ member Professor Dirk De Ridder on...

I've just watched this video from professor Dirk de Ridder. He says that all treatments based on electric or magnetic stimulations give positive results to 20-30 % of patients. Same for antidepressants and neuromudulation.

Pretty disappointing, but this video is 5 years old. In a more recent video, he said that the results will hopefully improve thanks to a better understanding of tinnitus and the improvement in technology.

 

@Ben Winders, how is it going so far? Did tDCS at the Brai3n Clinic help you with your tinnitus?

 

20-30% seems to be true if the tDCS is applied to one particular part of the brain.

However, I came across something interesting in the study of Shekhawat et al (2015).

They applied HD-tDCS bimodal stimulation on the left temporoparietal area [LTA] and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex [DLPFC] and reported a 77% response rate on both loudness and annoyance scales. Another thing is that the authors think that based on their data people with higher TFI scores and relatively good hearing stand a good chance of being helped by this intervention. All in all, Jacquemin's current study seems very promising, as it is largely based on the methods that are applied in Shekhawat's study (link: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1545968315595286).

 

Little update from me:

The neuromodulation I got at Brai3n didn't really do much. I truly wasn't expecting much.

I think, if anything, I would need some current applied to my brain like tDCS.

I had an appointment scheduled with Jacquemin at UZA but I gave up my spot because I was doing the neuromodulation at the time.

So - now I wonder if I should go back to Brai3n for tDCS. Anyone have any idea if they are doing the HD tDCS on both the left temporoparietal area [LTA] and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex [DLPFC]?

I'll send them an email to ask if they do, but maybe one of you already know.

@Christiaan, any reason why you haven't pulled the trigger on Brai3n's tDCS yet? Apart from COVID-19, but I'm sure you'd be able to travel to Ghent, I always see Dutch cars parked in front of Brai3n.

I would love to meet you there some day in the waiting room

Update: I just sent email to Brai3n to ask if they are aware of that study you quoted about the application on 2 brain parts and if they do HD-tDCS or regular tDCS.

 

Hi @Ben Winders.

Too bad that neuromodulation didn't work out for you. At least you can cross that one off your list of to-do treatments.

Please, let me/us know what Bra3in thinks about bimodal stimulation. But now that you mention this clinic, I wasn't actually aware of Brai3n until fairly recently. I only know that you can only partake in Jacquemin's study if you haven't participated in another tinnitus trial within the last 2 months. So that won't be something I would consider for the next few months.

I have only registered for Jacquemin's study in Antwerp and my next appointment is scheduled on the 14th of June at the UZA location in Edegem. Perhaps our paths cross on or near this date

 

Called Jacquemin's team this morning - wait time is about 8 months before you get your first brain zap, if you get on the list today :|

 

Wow, 8 months is quite some time. I just called the ENT department to check on this and they told me that the waiting list is quite long, but some could receive treatment much earlier if they meet certain criteria. I will only know for certain how long this could be after my appointment on the 14th.

 

As they explained it to me, the only reason I (emphasis on "I") would be able to get higher on the list is if I would be willing to participate in the blind/placebo trajectory which means that you aren't sure if you get the real therapy or not.

If you opt to get on the list that gets the treatment 100%, you have to wait (8) months.

 

Ok, are you willing to wait that long?

I belief they mentioned in the current study design (link) that even if you had placebo, you will receive the real treatment after the trial is finished (after 30th of September, 2021).

Personally, I would take my chances + enjoy a few weeks in the beautiful region of Flanders and try all the 150 + top notch beer

Edit: I found the reference about receiving real treatment after getting placebo:

 

No, I would probably go to Brai3n instead - not sure you'll get the same treatment there though.

 

Good luck! If they happen to have HD-tDCS at Brai3n, you could show them this (see picture) from Jacquemin's study design and ask them if they are willing to replicate that for you. It seems easy to copycat IMO.

 

I read the study. It looks good. I know there is an ongoing study using this HD-tDCS in Belgium. Maybe we will know more about it next year.

 

Dirk de Ridder is doing this in New Zealand.

 

I have an appointment in about 2 weeks with Dr. Laure Jacquemin. Are there any questions you guys want me to ask her about this particular HD-tDCS issue?

 

Keep us updated (obviously!) with details from your appointment.

 

Efficacy of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) for Tinnitus: A Retrospective Study

An umpteenth retrospective study about rTMS with a more or less positive conclusion. But this time, some relevant information has been provided:

"Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation treatment is effective for patients with tinnitus, but its efficacy is affected by tinnitus duration. Tinnitus patients are advised to attend for rTMS as soon as possible since therapy was more effective in those with a shorter duration of disease of less than 1 week."​

I recall that I underwent rTMS 4 months after my tinnitus onset. Neither the ENT nor the tinnitus clinic I visited respectively 2 days and 15 days after my tinnitus onset advised me to undergo rTMS as soon as possible.

Obviously, given the time limit, it had no effect on my tinnitus.

 

Hi @Ben Winders (fellow Belgian?), did you ever get the tympanic patch?

 

rTMS seems to be less effective than rTDCS to treat tinnitus.