American scientists have developed a new therapy to alleviate somatic tinnitus, a form linked to physical movement and touch.
- Tinnitus can be characterized by buzzing, hissing, squealing or chirping.
- An American team has developed a new treatment, which reduces the intensity of somatic tinnitus.
- Nearly 60% of volunteers reported a significant reduction in tinnitus symptoms following six weeks of active treatment.
Buzzing, hissing, clicking, chirping… Depending on the person, tinnitus can be perceived differently. These auditory sensations can occur suddenly during an event (noisy concert, episode of stress, etc.), or gradually. Tinnitus can become more intense with fatigue, stress or a change in head position.
A new therapy to relieve somatic tinnitus
Scientists from the Kresge Hearing Research Institute at the University of Michigan (USA) recently conducted research on how the brain registers and processes bi-sensory information, in order to develop a treatment that relieves patients with tinnitus. Their work has been published in the journal Jama Network Open.
Nearly 99 people with somatic tinnitus, a form related to physical movement and touch, participated in the study. “After registration, participants received a portable device developed and manufactured by in2being, for use at home (…) The devices were programmed to present each participant’s personal tinnitus spectrum, which was combined with stimulation to form a bi-sensory stimulus, while maintaining the blinding of the participants and the study team”, explained Susan Shore, lead author of the research, a professor in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at Michigan Medicine and the Departments of Physiology and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Michigan.
A significant reduction in tinnitus symptoms
The volunteers were then randomly divided into two groups. The first received a bi-sensory or active treatment, and the second received a sound-only or control treatment. During the first six weeks, subjects used their devices for 30 minutes a day. The next six weeks were spent on a break from daily use, followed by another six weeks of treatment not received at the start of the study.
Each week, the volunteers completed questionnaires assessing the impact of tinnitus on their daily lives, and had the intensity of this noise pollution assessed.
According to the findings, participants who received the bi-sensory treatment noticed an improvement in their quality of life as well as a significant reduction in the intensity of their tinnitus. About 60% of the volunteers reported a significant decrease in tinnitus symptoms after the six weeks of active treatment, but not after the control treatment. “This study paves the way for the use of personalized bi-sensory stimulation as an effective treatment for tinnitus, giving hope to millions of tinnitus sufferers”noted Susan Shore.