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Source of ëRinging in the Earsà Discovered
St. Paul, MN (January 22, 1998) The precise location in the brain that produces the sounds of tinnitus, a ringing in the ears that affects millions of people, has been identified. This marks a major step toward hope for an effective treatment. Tinnitus patients also had abnormal links between their hearing systems and their brainsà emotion control centers, as well as other brain transformations, according to a study published in the January issue of Neurology, the American Academy of NeurologyÃs scientific journal.
Alan H. Lockwood, MD, study co-author and Professor of Neurology, Nuclear Medicine and Communicative Disorders and Sciences at the State University of New York at Buffalo, and the Buffalo Veterans Administration Medical Center says, ìUsing positron-emission tomography (PET), which measures blood flow in the brain, we were able to map brain regions that responded to variations in tinnitus loudness as seen by changes in blood flow. Most people who suffer with tinnitus have at least partial hearing loss and often have damaged the cochlea in the inner ear. This led to speculations that tinnitus was due to abnormal discharges to the cochlea. We found that tinnitus sensations experienced by our patients came from the central auditory system and not the cochlea.î
More than 10 percent of elderly adults report severe tinnitus and an additional 30 percent complain of mild tinnitus. Severe tinnitus is associated with depression, anxiety, sleep disruption and other symptoms that significantly impact patientsà quality of life.
Lockwood continues, ìWe also found an abnormal link between the auditory and limbic systems in our tinnitus patients. Since the limbic system mediates emotions, this anomaly may explain why the phantom sounds of tinnitus are often so distressing to these patients.î
Changes within the tinnitus patientsà auditory systems were also found, resulting in more extensive brain activity from external sounds. Lockwood says, ìChanges in brain pathways follow many forms of neural injury. We believe that these changes in the auditory circuits may determine the exact nature and severity of the resulting tinnitus.î
Lockwood recommends that some caution be taken in generalizing these findings as the study participants had the unique ability to vary tinnitus loudness with specific facial movements. However, their symptoms and examinations were typical of tinnitus patients.
A large study supported by the National Institutes of Health is currently underway based on the early findings of this research.
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