Destroying Hearing, Getting Silence?

[infVM]

Just hypothetical question: is it possible by surgery or drugs or something to kill hearing whatsoever in 1 ear AND get rid of tinnitus completely?

Like destroying the cochlea would it stop tinnitus or do we have a wonderful brain/organism that can't repair hair cells (sure why bother?) but can produce tinnitus even if there is no cochlea in a ear?

 

[Contrast]

Yes it can and it might even make tinnitus worse, because tinnitus is literally the brain compensating for a loss of hearing.

That would be a really bad idea.

 

[infVM]

Yes it can and it might even make tinnitus worse, because tinnitus is literally the brain compensating for a loss of hearing.

That would be a really bad idea.

Does it mean that deaf people who didn't get it at birth might have tinnitus too? And to a level of the deafness they have which should be very loud?

 

[Contrast]

Does it mean that deaf people who didn't get it at birth might have tinnitus too? And to a level of the deafness they have which should be very loud?

There are poorly understood neurological gateway mechanisms that determine rather someone has tinnitus or phantom limb syndrome.

Not everyone with hearing loss has tinnitus, not everyone with a lost limb has phantom limb syndrome.

 

[Bill Bauer]

Does it mean that deaf people who didn't get it at birth might have tinnitus too? And to a level of the deafness they have which should be very loud?

Some deaf people do indeed suffer from T.