The AudioNotch Tinnitus Treatment Blog

Please note: the following information does not constitute professional medical advice, and is provided for general informational purposes only. Please speak to your doctor if you have tinnitus.

Groups of researchers from the University of Buffalo, Southeast University in China and the Dalhousie University in Canada experienced amazing breakthroughs into the mysterious realm of tinnitus. The tinnitus 2017 findings may eventually lead to a cure. The strange affliction causes patients to hear anything from buzzing, hissing or ringing in one or both ears. Although some suffer from the condition due to known physiological problems, others develop tinnitus for no discernible reason.

The Mystery Unfolds

Till the 1990s, the condition was thought to be a problem in the ear. However, when a number of patients lost hearing in one ear yet continued hearing the annoying noise, researchers began to suspect another cause. One patient required tumor removal in an ear, which cut the neural connection between the ear and the brain. Despite the broken connection, the individual also continued experiencing tinnitus.

Scientists theorized the problem involved a neural network more complex than previously known. Via a series of functional MRI scans, researchers learned the abnormal activity causing tinnitus does not simply take place in one region of the brain. In fact, the abnormality involves an entire network.

Tinnitus 2017 studies involved inducing the condition in laboratory animals using aspirin, as the common analgesic is known to cause symptoms in humans. Functional scans indicate which brain regions displayed activity in the presence of tinnitus. The high doses of aspirin administered normally cause hearing loss, which means no signals should be traveling to the brain. Yet, the affected animals demonstrated elevated levels of brain activity, which are not present in the absence of the condition.

Strange Results

Researchers traced the path of the network, which led to the central auditory pathway or the sound processing center in the brain. Additionally, scientists noted increased activity in the amygdala. The region is typically associated with emotional responses. Other areas of the brain showing an elevated response include the reticular formation, which is responsible for creating the “fight or flight” response, and the hippocampus, which stores and retrieves memories. Even more surprising was the activity viewed in the cerebellum, which activates to induce physical movement.

The Next Step

The tinnitus 2017 research equipped scientists with a broader picture of how the condition may originate in the brain. Future plans include to systematically deactivate small segments along the network. They hope that by a process of elimination, they might learn which disconnection might relieve tinnitus symptoms.