Episode 1: In Search of a Tinnitus Cure — Dr. Josef Rauschecker

[EDDTEKK]

Yes it's like that...

What I have noticed, they are almost all registered at LinkedIn. The business network platform.

So far I have seen:
Josef Rauschecker, Ross O'Neill, Berthold Langguth, Dirk De Ridder, Niels Birbaumer and others.

Why don't they connect with each other?

I couldn't find Matteo De Nora, the Initiator of the TRI. He would be the man who could support with funding.

 

[JohnAdams]

This shows me that researchers don't talk to each other

 

[Jack Straw]

Thank you guys for your efforts but sorry, to be honest, I do not see any news, we turn on the same point.

What?

 

[Otana]

Great interview and thanks to the Tinnitus Talk staff for taking the time to put this together. Dr. Rauschecker really highlights the woeful under funding and lack of recognition of tinnitus research. Sure there are a few big names who have received larger grants in recent years (Shore, Tzounopoulos, etc.), but there are so many more researchers whose work has been slowed or even cancelled due to lack of funds.

We as tinnitus patients need to be better about donating to worthy research when we can and advocating for increased research funding. It's encouraging that this has been a more prevalent topic as of late on this forum and hopefully it continues to gain momentum. As misunderstood as tinnitus still is, it's important to have multiple avenues of research. Dr. Rauschecker's work into understanding the gating mechanism and the relation of higher brain functions to tinnitus are one of those avenues. I've certainly donated to his cause and I hope that others do as well.

 

[TuxedoCat]

Dr. Rauschecker's work into understanding the gating mechanism and the relation of higher brain functions to tinnitus are one of those avenues. I've certainly donated to his cause and I hope that others do as well.

Thank you for that. There's a wonderful opportunity currently on Dr. Rauschecker's GiveCampus page.

Someone is offering a $50 match which means a donor could double some or all of their donation which is very nice. TC

 

[Markku]

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[BuzzyBee]

If anything it's more of an academic vs layman divide. Academics generally use the pronunciation 'tin ni tus.'

I've noticed that it's predominantly Americans who use the 'tin night tus pronunciation, but I've never liked this way of saying it.

If someone can't even pronounce it correctly, how much do to they know about it? How many conferences have they been to? How many academics have they consulted? Would you say something incorrectly over and over if your professors pronounced it in a different way?

I mispronounced it an hour after the ringing started and remember going to the pharmacist asking if there was anything for "tin-night-us. She directed me to the Lipoflavonoid aisle. Later I went to the ear doctor who immediately corrected my pronunciation so I'd at least say it right.

Also, the word tinnitus comes from the Latin root tinnire. An "itis" would refer to an inflammation.

 

[Cortina]

I totally agree. We need to lobby and get our message out to the community and the politicians. Doctors say it's not life threatening, what a joke. So many have taken their lives from this debilitating condition and so many have poor quality of life due to tinnitus. As they say, the squeaky wheel gets oiled first so let's start squeaking.

I am based in Australia and I can tell you that there is minimal support here, so I am willing to jump on with a group that is serious about moving forward with a campaign.

 

[Watasha]

so I am willing to jump on with a group that is serious about moving forward with a campaign.

@Cortina As am I. Have you responded to the "Become a Tinnitus Talk Advocate" thread in the Awareness and Fundraising category?

 

[TuxedoCat]

There is another opportunity to match a donation to Dr. Rauschecker's Fundraiser. You can access the GiveCampus page through Worthy Causes. TC

 

[hoper]

Rauschecker is a German last name (which doesn't mean he speaks German) but after listening to his English accent I was sure he speaks German too

 

[Markku]

Transcript Now Available

We want to extend our gratitude to @Liz Windsor who volunteered a significant amount of time, effort and talent transcribing the episode, which was no simple feat, especially considering the length of the episode (83 minutes).

To access the transcript, visit the episode page here, and click on the CC icon in the audio player (next to the episode download button). The transcript is in PDF format.

Alternatively, you can access the transcript directly via this link.

 

[Starthrower]

Thank you @Liz Windsor!!

 

[TuxedoCat]

Dr. Rauschecker's fundraiser on GiveCampus is at $3,085. And, Tinnitus Talk has generated the most money of all the Advocates so it's moved to the top of the list!

 

[Starthrower]

Dr. Rauschecker's fundraiser on GiveCampus is at $3,085. And, Tinnitus Talk has generated the most money of all the Advocates so it's moved to the top of the list!

This is excellent @TuxedoCat!! The power of making Tinnitus Talk/Hub successful by members is so important. The ability to create the podcasts creates a bridge (reasoning) for tinnitus research efforts and tinnitus sufferers.

Hopefully this will increase the interests of other tinnitus research efforts!!

 

[Mercedes A.]

Extremely informative Tinnitus Talk Podcast with Dr. Josef Rauschecker.

He mentioned writing letters to get money for research. However, I have no idea to whom I should write, to help facilitate a dire awareness of this mental health condition.

Could someone direct me to the appropriate mental health institute to request help for research.

Mercedes A.

 

[Starthrower]

He mentioned writing letters to get money for research. However, I have no idea to whom I should write, to help facilitate a dire awareness of this mental health condition.

Hi @Mercedes A. I believe @TuxedoCat and @Allan1967 are working on this aspect.

 

[TuxedoCat]

Hi @Mercedes A.

Are you in the United States?

Thanks TC

 

[Duncan L]

That was a thoroughly riveting discussion - thanks to all involved. Loved his early highlighting of the pronunciation issue which is something that bugs me. But whatever camp you are in maybe if you get lucky you will only have Tinytus...

 

[Gl0w0ut]

Read between the lines. Dr. Rauschecker is a gentleman and was being diplomatic, perhaps at his own expense.

Dr. Rauschecker and Susan Shore both did research as part of the Tinnitus Research Consortium between 1998 - 2012. From what I can tell, that was a fairly tight knit group that existed in the US and was funded by a philanthropist who donated over 8 million dollars over a 15 year period. So, I would venture that both are aware of each other's work, and if either leads to a benefit to patients, they will not discount that.

However, bimodal stimulation centers around stimulating the Dorsal Cochlear Nucleus in the brainstem. Dr. Rauschecker acknowledged that there is some evidence that this area of the brain may play a part, but his theory is that tinnitus is more complex. Rather, he says that in addition to hearing loss, areas of the brain within the limbic system are also damaged in some way. His model is that both damage to the "ear" and damage to the limbic system must both exist for tinnitus to occur. If these limbic regions were not damaged, the tinnitus signal would not reach the auditory cortex and we would not "hear it". Therefore, the undamaged limbic structures act as a gating mechanism which nicely explains why not everyone with hearing loss experiences tinnitus. His research centers on understanding the mechanisms at work in the limbic system and this understanding will lead to better treatments and eventually a cure. Here is a very hasty and rough schematic.

View attachment 26127

As far as Neuromod is concerned, I have not heard one thing about it here in the US. The AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) is advertising the Levo System. Nowhere have I seen anything about Neuromod except an ad in the ATA magazine which only talked about their clinical program, which I found strange.

Speaking of AARP, like the Veteran's associations, they are another fairly powerful group in the US when it comes to lobbying. We should keep that in mind.

TC

His gating model is crap. Too many inconsistent findings on studies which attempted to replicate the initial 2006 pilot study.

 

[Candy]

Rauschecker et al. argued that the role of the limbic system in tinnitus is an active one opposed to a reactive one. In their proposed circuit, the limbic and para-limbic structures around subcallosal areas act as a self-regulating gating mechanism that prevents the tinnitus signal from reaching the cortex. When a break-down of this gating system occurs, the tinnitus signal is perceived. Chronic tinnitus is explained by the constant depletion of serotonin, which causes excitotoxicity due to the constant firing of serotonergic neurons that have to signal that the tinnitus sound needs to be filtered out ("Tuning out the Noise: limbic-Auditory Interactions in Tinnitus." Neuron 66 (6): 819–826. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2010.04.032.). Intermittent tinnitus can then be explained by hypothesising that serotonin levels fluctuate rather than being depleted.​

Can I ask what this means? Why is the serotonin depleted?