Transcranial Stimulation Treatments (rTMS & tDCS & tACS)

This guy actually committed suicide (see page 2) because rTMS worsened his tinnitus, so yeah...

Suicidal Because Noise from rTMS (140 dB!) Massively Worsened My Tinnitus and Caused Hearing Loss

 

@Aussie Lea, I'm following tDCS more than rTMS.

 

I did visit Brai3n last year and I was due to have tDCS (I didn't as other medical issues took hold).

They knew of my hyperacusis (sound sensitivity) but did assure me the procedures were quiet.

Perhaps though this was tDCS rather than rTMS (?)

 

Thanks for that. I wonder how reactive tinnitus would respond to electrical stimulation. A part of me fears it might excite it more, but that’s me going off of just thought.

 

@ErikaS, I don't think it would matter if it's reactive or not. It's a case of whether the stimulus would break up and disrupt the aberrant pattern.

 

When I spoke to Dr. De Ridder about the treatment, and I told him about my tinnitus being sound reactive and changing a lot, he did say he felt it could help stabilise it.

I took that to mean make less reactive.

Obviously this was my take on it.

He basically said he felt that the treatment would help 'stabilise it, soften it a bit and may take a tone or two away'.

I did though get the impression it would stabilise me more than reduce the tinnitus - or if tinnitus did reduce, it would be by a relatively small %.

 

Thanks for sharing, @DeanD... For me, my tinnitus is not loud at baseline, so if it could stabilize the reactivity, that would be life-changing. There is a tDCS specialist two states over from me (USA).

I just did a quick tDCS search in the USA and there is a place in Santa Barbara, California called NeuroField Neurotherapy and it appears tinnitus is listed under their tDCS treatments. Curious if anyone on Tinnitus Talk ventured there.

 

→ The Evaluation of Effects of Electrical Stimulation in Treatment of Patients with Chronic Tinnitus with Normal Hearing Sensitivity

 

“With normal hearing sensitivity” ... are we to assume that this means no hyperacusis and/or reactivity/sound sensitive tinnitus participants?

Just comparing, what we can, to the study you posted previously that targeted the auditory cortex and saw significant results. I wonder which one holds “better” results, and why these researchers chose to target dorsolateral prefrontal cortex over auditory cortex when they note that both are targeted tinnitus treatments.

 

Yes, that's how I interpreted it.

There is a good review paper here of the different positions and types of stimulation:

State of the art: non-invasive electrical stimulation for the treatment of chronic tinnitus

There must be enough evidence now to get some of these methods into a tinnitus clinic. The equipment already exists for other diseases.

Is your tinnitus bilateral?

 

Thanks for the link. Yes, bilateral. It started in right ear (inner ear damage only in right ear) but became bilateral within a month after I had a cold or two. Right ear is still “worse” in terms of reactivity and physically sensitive, but left ear is definitely affected and sensitive as well.

Does it matter if it is bilateral tinnitus with this treatment? I didn’t see anything in the literature mentioning unilateral tinnitus specifically.

I do think those with reactivity could still do this and possibly find benefit, like @DeanD shared, Dr. Dirk De Ridder said it could possibly help stabilize things overall.

 

→ Down-Regulation of Tinnitus Negative Valence via Concurrent HD-tDCS and PEI Technique: A Pilot Study

 

I have a call with a Dr. Nate Bergman next Friday. He is the head of a brain/cognitive wellness center located near Cleveland, Ohio called Kemper Cognitive Wellness. He is board certified in Internal Medicine with expertise in brain health and neurodegenerative diseases. Prior to coming to his current practice, he worked at Cleveland Clinic and co-developed their cognitive impairment program.

They complete brain mapping/qEEG and use nuerostimmulation including tDCS for many conditions. When I called and asked about tinnitus, they reported that they have had tinnitus patients and use tDCS, but results are not as consistent as he’d want them to be. So, he wants to hear my case. I appreciate the response and honesty. I can share his input regarding what he has seen with tinnitus and tDCS if anyone is interested after I speak with him.

 

We all appreciate his honesty. Many say tDCS doesn't decrease the loudness of tinnitus but can decrease the stress of it. About 20-30% seem to get a loudness reduction of around 10%. If you do, it's worth it with severe tinnitus. There also seems to be a lot of variation in how it's carried out; studies are being done to find this out. A personalised approach based on the patients qEEG seems best but even then I'm not overly confident on good results being obtained.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I will share what he has to say. I am chatting with him, and then I have an appointment made with a top neurologist who specializes in seizures and epilepsy to discuss my case and a drug like Keppra. I have talked with 2 friends who are pharmacists and they basically told me Keppra is worth trying. My reactivity is my debilitation factor and literally makes it sound like my ears have actual seizure activity with how my sounds sound and how they change from sound stimuli in my environment or just because. Just educating myself on all options as we wait for Dr. Shore’s device.