Studies point to new understanding of phantom noises in the ear <\/p>\n
By Kate Murphy <\/p>\n
Published: April 2, 2008 <\/p>\n
Modern life is loud. The jolting buzz of an alarm clock awakens the
\nears to a daily din of trucks idling, sirens blaring, televisions
\ndroning, computers pinging and phones ringing – not to mention
\nrefrigerators humming and air-conditioners thrumming. But for the
\nmillions who suffer from severe tinnitus, the phantom tones inside
\ntheir head are louder than anything else. <\/p>\n
Often caused by prolonged or sudden exposure to loud noises, tinnitus
\nis becoming an increasingly common complaint, particularly among
\nsoldiers returning from combat, users of portable music players, and
\naging baby boomers reared on rock ‘n’ roll. Other causes include
\nstress, some kinds of chemotherapy, head and neck trauma, sinus
\ninfections, and multiple sclerosis. <\/p>\n
Although there is no cure, researchers say they have never had a
\nbetter understanding of the cascade of physiological and psychological
\nmechanisms responsible for tinnitus. As a result, new treatments under
\ninvestigation show promise in helping patients manage the ringing,
\npinging and hissing that otherwise drives them to distraction. <\/p>\n
The most promising therapies, experts say, are based on discoveries
\nmade in the last five years about the brain activity of people with
\ntinnitus. With brain-scanning equipment like functional magnetic
\nresonance imaging, researchers in the United States and Europe have
\nindependently discovered that the brain areas responsible for
\ninterpreting sound and producing fearful emotions are exceptionally
\nactive in people who complain of tinnitus. <\/p>\n
“We’ve discovered that tinnitus is not so much ringing in the ears as
\nringing in the brain,” said Thomas Brozoski, a tinnitus researcher at
\nSouthern Illinois University School of Medicine, in Springfield. <\/p>\n
Indeed, tinnitus can be intense in people with hearing loss and even
\nthose whose auditory nerves have been completely severed. In the
\nabsence of normal auditory stimulation, the brain is like a driver
\ntrying to tune in to a radio station that is out of range. It turns up
\nthe volume trying but gets only annoying static. Richard Salvi,
\ndirector of the Center for Hearing and Deafness at the State
\nUniversity of New York at Buffalo, said the static could be “neural
\nnoise” – the sound of nerves firing. Or, he said, it could be a
\nleftover sound memory. <\/p>\n
Adam Edwards, 34, co-owner of a wheel repair shop in Dallas, said he
\ndeveloped tinnitus four years ago after target-shooting with a pistol.
\n“I had all the risk factors,” he said. “I grew up hunting, I played
\ndrums in a band, I went to loud concerts, I have a loud work
\nenvironment – everything but living next to a missile launch site.”
\nHis tinnitus, which he described as a “computer beeping” sound, was so
\nintense and persistent that he needed sedatives to sleep at night. <\/p>\n
Edwards says he has gotten relief from a device developed by an
\nAustralian audiologist. Manufactured by Neuromonics, of Bethlehem,
\nPennsylvania, it looks like an MP3 player and delivers sound spanning
\nthe full auditory spectrum, digitally embedded in soothing music. <\/p>\n
Similar to white noise, the broadband sound, tailored to each
\npatient’s hearing ability, masks the tinnitus. (The music is intended
\nto ease the anxiety that often accompanies the disorder.) Patients
\nwear the $5,000 device for a minimum of two hours a day for six
\nmonths. Since completing the treatment regimen last year, Edwards said
\nhis tinnitus had “become sort of like Muzak at a department store –
\nyou hear it if you think about it, but otherwise you don’t really
\nnotice.” <\/p>\n
A small, company-financed study in the journal Ear & Hearing in April
\n2007 indicated that the Neuromonics method was 90 percent successful
\nat reducing tinnitus. A larger study is under way to determine its
\nlong-term effectiveness. <\/p>\n
Anne Howell, an audiologist at the Callier Center for Communication
\nDisorders at the University of Texas at Dallas, said the Neuromonics
\ndevice was a big improvement over older sound therapies that required
\nwearing something that looked like a hearing aid all the time and took
\n18 to 24 months. <\/p>\n
Other treatments showing promise include surgically implanted
\nelectrodes and noninvasive magnetic stimulation, both intended to
\ndisrupt and possibly reset the faulty brain signals responsible for
\ntinnitus. Using functional MRI to guide them, neurosurgeons in Belgium
\nhave performed the implant procedure on several patients in the last
\nyear and say it has suppressed tinnitus entirely. <\/p>\n
But the treatment is controversial. <\/p>\n
The magnetic therapy, similar to treatments used for depression and
\nchronic pain, involves holding a magnet in the shape of an 8 over the
\nskull. Clinicians use functional MRI to aim the magnetic pulses so
\nthey reach regions of the brain responsible for interpreting sound. <\/p>\n
Patients receive a pulse every second for about 20 minutes. “It works
\nfor some people but not for others,” said Anthony Cacace, professor of
\ncommunication science and nerve disorders at Wayne State University,
\nin Detroit. <\/p>\n
Researchers in Brazil have published a study indicating that a
\ntreatment called cranial-sacral trigger-point therapy can relieve
\ntinnitus in some head and neck trauma cases by releasing muscles that
\nconstrict hearing and neural pathways. <\/p>\n
And drugs intended to treat alcoholism, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s and
\ndepression that alter levels of various neurotransmitters in the brain
\nlike serotonin, dopamine and gamma-aminobutyric acid have quieted
\ntinnitus in some published animal and human studies. <\/p>\n
Link: http:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2008\/04\/02\/arts\/snhear.php<\/p>\n
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Studies point to new understanding of phantom noises in the ear By Kate Murphy Published: April 2, 2008 Modern life is loud. The jolting buzz of an alarm clock awakens the ears to a daily din of trucks idling, sirens…<\/p>\n