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.

For those who suffer from tinnitus, life can be a very frustrating experience.  As day after day goes by, those with this condition often feel as if there is no hope that they will be cured.  However, as researchers have studied this condition over the years, the prospect of using stem cells has emerged as a promising prospect.  After much work and analysis, research scientists at Kyoto University in Japan may have finally found a stem cell cure for tinnitus.

Restoring Damaged Cells
In this research, scientists discovered numerous ways in which damaged cells can be restored using stem cells.  By restoring damaged hair cells in the cochlea, transplanted stem cells have shown promise by being able to grow from the damaged part of the auditory nerve to the brain stem, restoring auditory function with remarkable efficiency and offering the real possibility a stem cell cure for tinnitus can be found.

The Key to Success
While in years past a stem cell cure for tinnitus seemed out of reach, one change to the procedure has seemed to make all the difference.  In past experiments, the majority of stem cells died due to being implanted underneath the glial scar.  But in the most recent experiments, success was found by implanting the cells on the surface of the glial scar, enabling the cells to thrive and grow on the surface instead of underneath it.  By implementing this one change in the procedure, researchers found much better success while also showing a stem cell cure for tinnitus is possible to achieve.

What’s the Future?
Due to the success of this procedure, scientists now know there is much greater success ahead when it comes to finding a stem cell cure for tinnitus.  By using the surface stem cell transplant method, it now becomes possible to preserve the stem cells long enough so that they can grow and multiply.  As a result, normal functioning of the connection between the ear and central nervous system once again becomes possible.  When this occurs, the symptoms of tinnitus can be lessened or even eliminated.  In addition to this, it’s quite possible the connection between the ear and brain could be improved, thus allowing normal functioning.  However, since this would disturb the original process, scientists learned how to establish the ear-brain connection with as little disturbance as possible.  While tinnitus can be frustrating, it’s clear this new treatment offers hope to those dealing with this condition.