Can Tinnitus Be Cured? What Is Going to End Up Being the Cure?

[Erlend]

But I still have better hearing than most people, yet they don't have T, I do.

Is this because I USED to have even BETTER hearing? That the brain is missing some sounds that it once had?

If so, a theory: You are more likely to get T if you have super good high freq hearing.

My brain is basically a spoiled asshole kid that has started screaming just because it misses SOME high frequency sounds that almost no one else has?

 

[Karl]

I think one of the problems doctors are faced with is the location of the source of tinnitus. Again, this is my opinion, but I think that tinnitus is caused by a nerve that is behind the cochlea. That's a hard place to get at, because of the skull.

If tinnitus where simply inside the cochlear, a medicine could be easily delivered. But if the source of tinnitus is behind the cochlea, how can a doctor get at it? If a medicine could get to those nerves ...or if those nerves could be electrically grounded..or if a few nerves could be cut, I think that for a lot of us the sound would stop.

We're talking about brain surgery, perhaps on a minor scale, a little hole in the skull may be all that's required to inject a needle with a drug, or insertion of a little electrode. (Maybe this was Van Gogh's idea, but he lacked the proper equipment.)

Given the sheer number of people with tinnitus, I'm sure that the medical community and the insurance industry aren't too anxious to start doing brain surgery on millions of people.

Now if there was something else that was non-evasive. Hmm....Nano robot surgery? Electro-magnetic devices? Ultra sound devices?

Of course a true cure is stem cell regeneration of the cochlear hair cells.

If you can live with this thing and habituate, it becomes less and less a factor. When people first get it is the worst time. It blew my mind that, at first, doctors couldn't help me stop the sound. I became very disillusioned about the limitations of medicine.

I really hope that someday in the future, there will be a fix. Perhaps we'll drink a vial of nanobots, then put on a helmet with electrodes and those nanobots will go to work and fix things.

(Anybody read Michael Chrichton's last book before he died, "Micron"? Very cool book about nanobots. He was one of my favorite writers. Hope they someday make Micron into a movie.)

 

[Erlend]

Of course a true cure is stem cell regeneration of the cochlear hair cells.

Is this for sure though? What if it's the audotory nerve that has been crippled? I don't see the hair cell thing as an explenation for hyperacusis for example.

But hyperacusis might be psychological, I've just stopped caring about it and it is going away.

 

[Karl]

Is this for sure though? What if it's the audotory nerve that has been crippled? I don't see the hair cell thing as an explenation for hyperacusis for example.

But hyperacusis might be psychological, I've just stopped caring about it and it is going away.

Good point. Some people have tinnitus orginating from nerves, not from hearing loss.

Some researchers postulate that in the Dorsal Nuclear Cochleus (back of neck at brain stem), non-auditory nerve signals can be mixed-up with auditory nerve signals, resulting in tinnitus. But for most us, we get tinnitus from hearing loss. I know for a fact that I have significant hearing loss at the tinnitus frequency that I hear.

I've never experienced hyperacusis. I thought it was an over-reaction due to hearing loss, but not quite sure about that.

 

[Erlend]

I didn't get it straight away at all. I think my hyperacusis has come because I've obsessed over protecting myself from sounds for months or something.

It's weird though, loud traffic and music and people screaming don't bother me, it is ONLY typing on keyboard..

 

[erik]

Hyperacusis is an inner ear disorder, usually due to hearing loss or an auditory nerve issue though it is not completely understood. It makes you over sensitive to sounds including normal every day sounds in a way that it promotes fear of sound and physical hearing pain. I had hyperacusis for the first 4-6 months of my T. At first it was worse than the T. As I got more used to it, it was definitely an annoyance which coupled with having T was definitely a double-whammy.

Yes overprotecting your ears can lead to hyperacusis or make it worse. That is I only recommend the use of ear plugs at noisy events or places, not all the time in normal environments.

 

[erik]

Tinnitus Talkers --Keep the Faith!

The mechanisms of tinnitus and its relation to hearing loss must be further studied, but there's reason to have hope.

Can tinnitus be cured?

 

[Lulubug69]

Let's hope!

 

[Leah]

Thanks, I needed to hear something positive.

 

[Eric N]

Nothing in this article that I have not read before, but I still have hope.

 

[Relic Hunter]

I believe there will be a cure for T. but not in my lifetime.

 

[Eric N]

I believe there will be a cure for T. but not in my lifetime.

Well how old are you ;P

 

[Relic Hunter]

Well how old are you ;P

62

 

[lana]

Couldn't read this for some reason my phone wouldn't let me. Sounded good though

 

[ResonanceCEO]

62

If you've 5 more years in you, then it will be in your lifetime. Stay positive! Help is coming!

 

[Erlend]

If you've 5 more years in you, then it will be in your lifetime. Stay positive! Help is coming!

But it won't help chronic sufferers, isn't that what you're saying? Or could it help a but, but not completely?

One more thing: Do you know if it's possible to invest in Auris Medical?

 

[ResonanceCEO]

But it won't help chronic sufferers, isn't that what you're saying? Or could it help a but, but not completely?

One more thing: Do you know if it's possible to invest in Auris Medical?

Chronic suffers are a more difficult problem, but Autifony might be on the right track with a centrally acting drug. I think the drugs coming out soon will help you, but you should be prepared to have some level of chronic tinnitus until one of those centrally acting agents come to the market - (that may be 10 years from now, since they're only in animal studies right now)

The only company that is publicly traded is GenVec and its on the NASDAQ exchange. Its super cheap too - a little over a dollar per share, but I wouldn't invest now, because they just underwent a major restructuring and started focusing on hearing loss drugs only. The therapy will survive, but the company may not. The better bet would be to invest in Novartis, which GenVec has a $250 million development deal with. I suspect Otonomy will be a publicly traded company soon and I would get into them as quickly as possible because they have the best scientific and business team of any of the companies by far! For smaller companies like mine, we are going to starting a crowd funding effort pretty soon. I'll post the details when we have more information.

 

[Golly]

@ResonanceCEO:

I applaud your positive attitude as well as your contributions to TT and the tinnitus research community generally! Please stay on this site: your optimism is extremely uplifting. I have just been scrolling through your posts and they have made my day.

Best, Golly

 

[ResonanceCEO]

@ResonanceCEO:

I applaud your positive attitude as well as your contributions to TT and the tinnitus research community generally! Please stay on this site: your optimism is extremely uplifting. I have just been scrolling through your posts and they have made my day.

Best, Golly

Thanks! I'm on the front lines with my company, and there is a lot to be positive about. HL and T are no longer the forgotten stepchildren of the medical research community.

 

[Erlend]

This?

Autifony Therapeutics Phase I Study for AUT00063, for the Treatment of Hearing Loss and Tinnitus | Tinnitus Talk Support Forum

http://www.autifonytherapeutics.com/publications/Turneretal2013-TRI_final.pdf

 

[Erlend]

Chronic suffers are a more difficult problem, but Autifony might be on the right track with a centrally acting drug. I think the drugs coming out soon will help you, but you should be prepared to have some level of chronic tinnitus until one of those centrally acting agents come to the market - (that may be 10 years from now, since they're only in animal studies right now)

The only company that is publicly traded is GenVec and its on the NASDAQ exchange. Its super cheap too - a little over a dollar per share, but I wouldn't invest now, because they just underwent a major restructuring and started focusing on hearing loss drugs only. The therapy will survive, but the company may not. The better bet would be to invest in Novartis, which GenVec has a $250 million development deal with. I suspect Otonomy will be a publicly traded company soon and I would get into them as quickly as possible because they have the best scientific and business team of any of the companies by far! For smaller companies like mine, we are going to starting a crowd funding effort pretty soon. I'll post the details when we have more information.

If you notify us when it gets listed I will contribute to your crowdfunding!!!

 

[NeoM]

If you notify us when it gets listed I will contribute to your crowdfunding!!!

Do you donate to anything like the HRP or the ATA (yeah I realize it says you're from Scandinavia) or something similar? I'm wondering which ones are good.

 

[Erlend]

Do you donate to anything like the HRP or the ATA (yeah I realize it says you're from Scandinavia) or something similar? I'm wondering which ones are good.

No I don't think there's anything like that going on here.

 

[Markku]

ATA accepts international donations, too: Secure Page | American Tinnitus Association

TRI is a great one: http://tinnitusresearch.org/en/foundation/donation_en.php
The administrative expenses of TRI are covered by the founder, therefore we can guarantee you, that your donation will exclusively be used to support tinnitus research across borders and disciplines.

 

[Dr. Ancill]

As a physician, I think a cure is very unlikely. That is because tinnitus is a highly-variable symptom of many different single and combination disorders. It would be like hoping for a cure for pain, nausea or fever. What is much more likely is that we will find cures for some of the more specific causes and, as has happened with TRT, better ways of managing the tinnitus itself and its consequnces. I believe that many sufferers today do not have optimal treatment so there is room for improvement right now.

 

[Hudson]

As a physician, I think a cure is very unlikely. That is because tinnitus is a highly-variable symptom of many different single and combination disorders. It would be like hoping for a cure for pain, nausea or fever. What is much more likely is that we will find cures for some of the more specific causes and, as has happened with TRT, better ways of managing the tinnitus itself and its consequnces. I believe that many sufferers today do not have optimal treatment so there is room for improvement right now.

I agree that a "cure" is highly unlikely. What is more likely are successful treatments that greatly reduce the tinnitus percept. If the different causes of tinnitus can be addressed, hearing loss, etc. that may be "cured" in a sense then.

 

[cmurem]

Hearing Restoration Project is trying to find a cure which is also a breakthrough in medical science. They are inspired by the birds and want to make the human cochlea mimick the cochlea of the birds until restored at its best. All of these explain how difficult a cure can be found. They are talking about manuplating a very complex system developed in millions of years of evolution.

 

[Jake]

I agree with @Dr. Ancill. I'm much less concerned about a "cure" per se as I am an effective treatment. Honestly, as long as there is some sort of pill or device that will be able to silence or greatly reduce perception of chronic tinnitus, I think everyone will be ecstatic. That being said, @ResonanceCEO, it's great to have you here with your encouraging words and your insight. It's a bit belated, but welcome to TT!

 

[ResonanceCEO]

I agree with @Dr. Ancill. I'm much less concerned about a "cure" per se as I am an effective treatment. Honestly, as long as there is some sort of pill or device that will be able to silence or greatly reduce perception of chronic tinnitus, I think everyone will be ecstatic. That being said, @ResonanceCEO, it's great to have you here with your encouraging words and your insight. It's a bit belated, but welcome to TT!

Thanks Jake! This is such a wonderful and welcoming site!

 

[ResonanceCEO]

If you notify us when it gets listed I will contribute to your crowdfunding!!!

Cool! I really appreciate it! Helping spread the word and making us into a viral movement will take everyone!