Transcranial Stimulation Treatments (rTMS & tDCS & tACS)

That tracks with what Prof. Dirk De Ridder was saying in the Tinnitus Talk Podcast.

 

Hard to say really, my tinnitus seemed to react while getting brain zapped which could be an interesting sign, it seemed less intrusive for a few days after, however I may have had the placebo and a lucky couple of days so I wouldn't draw any conclusions from my experience.

 

I could enrol into this, but I saw there is an MRI too. Hasn't the MRI affected you? Also, you only get one session? There is no hope that you get much benefit, then, even if you don't get placebo. Is your tinnitus severe, moderate or mild?

 

Any news from Dr. Jacquemin?

 

Sorry I don't check here often anymore.

I had an MRI. They gave me foam earplugs and ear defenders. It was still pretty loud but lasted only 10 minutes. I was worried it would affect my tinnitus but didn't seem to, I can generally tolerate loud noises for a short while as long as I have decent earplugs.

It's all subjective but my tinnitus is somewhere between moderate and severe, certainly very loud and very intrusive, so if it magically knocked out one or two tones, it'd be pretty hard to tell.

 

Final verdict (I waited a solid month to give feedback):

HD-tDCS did absolutely nothing for my tinnitus. End of story.

 

That's bad news. I was also considering the treatment in Gent. But after your experience, it might not be worth it to spend so much money for nothing. Tinnitus is so hard to treat... nothing really helps.

A combination of magnetic stimulation and Ketamine is my last hope.

 

Very sorry to hear that. I was hoping the HD version could help.

 

I'm waiting for Dr. De Ridder's Infraslow + Ketamine combo.

 

There are a lot of articles saying that this treatment is good for depression.

That is, it only treats the symptoms of tinnitus, not tinnitus.

 

There is a private mental health group near my home in New York, USA that provides TMS therapy.

I called about trying it for my tinnitus. The director/therapist said it’s only FDA approved for severe depression. They have a very strict protocol to access specific areas of the brain for depression.

He added his personal opinion that the areas of the brain that TMS helps would not necessarily be the same exact areas that would address the tinnitus. It would be like going in blindfolded, so no way would they try. So now I’m depressed! I think I’ll try TMS. Lol

 

Lol - join the F**** club!

No better with CBG?

 

@Uklawyer, I’m sticking with it. BUT since I use the CBG in MCT oil, I’m having gastrointestinal issues. Why not!!! Lol.

So I cut back to taking one dose a day. It’s really helping more with my inflammation issues. The tinnitus is a bit quieter. The wake up morning tinnitus is a little softer & resolves to its average level a bit quicker. At this point, I’m satisfied with it and will continue. But as a solution for the tinnitus, it’s not the cure.

#Stilllooking!

 

Has anybody tried TMS with Ketamine?

 

@Chinmoku, I own a few shares in ElectroCore.

ElectroCore, Inc. is a medical device company with a non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS) therapy. nVNS is a platform for bioelectronic medical therapy that modulates neurotransmitters and immune function through its effects on both the peripheral and central nervous systems.

The gammaCore Sapphire is a handheld delivery system intended for multi-year use. GammaCore has several applications, including treating medication overuse neuro trauma in adults.

They have launched e-commerce storefronts in the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US). A team then stays in regular contact with the patient, providing further support during the course of the therapy.

In our legacy business channels, we have continued to grow our Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Department of Defense (DoD) business in the United States, our National Health Service (NHS) business in the United Kingdom, and our distributor relationships around the world. We plan to continue to invest in growth from these channels as we move through 2022.

 

Hey there @Greg Sacramento.

Curious if you think this is a good treatment modality at least in the way of anxiety? I’m thinking of investing in the Alpha-Stim to help break my stress response (fight or flight) state consistently.

 

Some interesting news in this context. If I understand correctly, this technique has been applied somewhat "randomly" in the past, hoping for positive outcome. Maybe this research can help make it effective in the future. Tinnitus is not mentioned explicitly, but certainly falls in the larger categories of chronic pain/brain disorders, hyperactive brain regions etc.

Algorithm marks the spot: making brain stimulation more reliable

 

Has anybody tried rTMS/HD-tCDS at Brai3n? Any positive results? Thanks.

 

Really, no one?

 

I don't know much about the Alpha-Stim, but I do know a lot about most other devices. Many have little practical value, unless those that can be used on lower back. The FDA and researchers like Susan Shore said that physical conditions of jaw, mouth, neck, facial must be fixed first. The gammaCore Sapphire has FDA approval for many conditions, but all simulation devices can cause:

• Application site discomfort • Application site irritation/redness • Local pain, face/head/neck area (including toothache) • Muscle twitching and/or contractions, face/head/neck area (including facial droop and/or lip pull) • Headache/migraine • Dizziness • Tingling, pricking, or a feeling of “pins and needles” on the skin where the device is applied (paresthesia/dysesthesia)

The FDA has also issued a long condition list where individuals should not use stimulation. Included is vein and artery conditions/disease, facial and cervical nerve and ligament damage. Artery and vein disease - carotid artery, hypertension, anxiety and depression.

 

Can someone who knows Dr. De Ridder contact him directly to show him this? I am not sure if Brai3n is aware of this new algorithm. Maybe they could start using it for tinnitus? Just asking.

 

You can email Brai3n directly. Mr. Jan Ost is one of the directors. He will be highly interested in this I suppose.

https://www.brai3n.com/en/contact/

 

Has anyone seen a case of someone's tinnitus (NOT their reaction to tinnitus) improving from doing TMS? Every account I read it doesn't do anything for actual tinnitus.

 

This is the value of internet forums. The audiologist I saw last week suggested this and they offer it locally. However, it would most likely not be covered by my plans and kind of sounds dicey.

 

This article is from last year. I don’t know if they have moved forward yet:

Technology accelerates advances in brain research

Also, the University of Regensburg is still investigating rTMS as a therapy for tinnitus:

Stefan Schoisswohl, M.Sc. Psychology:...

I don’t understand why they are so slow. It could be done much faster.

 

Is There an Optimal Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Target to Treat Chronic Tinnitus?

Results: There were 1211 studies screened. Nineteen studies met the inclusion criteria, and 8 unique stimulation sites were reported. Studies had 53.7 ± 46.0 patients (mean ± SD). The mean duration of follow-up was 10.3 ± 9.6 weeks. Positive outcomes regarding tinnitus suppression were reported in 5 of 5 (100%) studies stimulating the temporoparietal junction midway between T3 and P3 or between T4 and P4. Tinnitus suppression at all other sites was less frequent with a combined success rate of only 8 of 14 (57.1%).

Conclusion: Significant heterogeneity exists in the literature in regard to the optimal transcranial magnetic stimulation target. These preliminary findings suggest that the temporoparietal junction midway between T3 and P3 or T4 and P4 is a promising nonauditory rTMS target in the setting of chronic tinnitus. Future research should elucidate the effectiveness of this site for tinnitus suppression.

 

I just came across this news:

Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine-associated tinnitus responds to transcranial magnetic stimulation

This is certainly encouraging for those with tinnitus linked to their COVID-19 vaccine, and perhaps for others too.

/G

 

What concerns me is out of 1000+ studies, 5 met the criteria. Maybe a specific subset benefitted or the rest were poor studies.

 

I don't know, I have a psychiatrist who is willing to give it a go with me and I'm kind of willing to give it a go as my insurance will cover it for 'depression', hell I'm pretty depressed about my tinnitus. My question is whether this 'improvement' is in THI or actual decrease in symptoms.

 

The best evidence is with tDCS rather than TMS. The BTA are actually enthused by a meta analysis of tDCS to a degree where they 'almost' say it's effective on their website.

A trial took place at Nottingham University, which was completed in May 2022 but doesn't yet have results.

It looks like optimal parameters are being defined and there seems to be 7x 20 minute sessions.

Nic Wray from the BTA updated me saying there had been a 'flurry of activity' for tDCS, so they are in the process of updating their treatments page.