Actually, MS as a disease process is characterized by exacerbations (worsenings) and remissions (improvement again, or leveling off). Some MS progresses to full-blown, and some remains on the milder end for life. And some is in the middle.
I was just thinking about this the other day, and wondering if SOME tinnitus is actually caused by a form of so-called autoimmunity/inflammatory process which cycles like this. It would explain why it can appear, lessen, re-appear, etc.
And MAYBE it can explain why it is influenced by other inflammatory processes in the body, a whole host of all these individual idiosyncrasies we experience, etc.
COULD some lingering inflammation of the auditory nerve itself be responsible for generating some of the somatic tinnitus as well as the brain-based stuff? I imagine that ANY nerve can become inflamed. If it's a peripheral nerve, you can get pain, numbness, tingling, etc. If it's a central nervous system nerve, the symptoms would be related to the function of the nerve - i.e., optic nerve causes visual disturbances, acoustic nerve causes ... acoustics!
And again, this raises the question that I cannot let go of, regarding the fact that I feel my right auditory nerve is "charged, primed, INFLAMED<<--" ...
Because when I walk and hear that zing-zing-zing with every footstep, I really feel like the physical shock force of walking is plucking the guitar string that my auditory nerve, in an inflamed state, has become.
@Cityjohn , I am no research scientist, but I have a background in physiology and the sciences and I'm a good intuitive thinker. What are YOUR thoughts on this?