MemberTwo Articles About A Major Breakthrough in Tinnitus Research:
Article No. 1: Joint Study Provides Advances in WTAMU Tinnitus Research
CANYON, Texas—A major development in tinnitus research last fall at West Texas A&M University has led to a joint study using magnetoencephalography with measurable results.
Dr. Leslie Dalton, visiting professor of communication disorders, recently found that a particular area of the brain can be programmed to suppress the debilitating effects of the phantom sounds of tinnitus, a condition marked by a ringing sound in the ears. He found he could make tinnitus go away by taking advantage of how the auditory system works normally while totally ignoring the phantom sound itself. His research prompted an invitation from the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit to participate in a joint study with Dr. Susan Bowyer, a medical neuroimaging physicist and senior staff investigator at the hospital. Her work demonstrated that tinnitus could be seen in scans using magnetoencephalography (MEG).
"It was a match made in heaven," Dalton said. "Since the cancellation paradigm is a neurological manipulation computer-based program, the MEG is a natural device for demonstrating what the process is doing. It has been especially exciting to actually see the tinnitus on the MEG scan rather than having to rely on what the patient reports as he/she hears or doesn't hear a sound."
Magnetoencephalography is used to map magnetic electrical current occurring naturally in the brain. The method was made possible by the invention of the superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) by a Ford Motor Company engineer. Hundreds of SQUIDs are placed around a patient's head to 'read' the brain activity and can be used in a before and after situation.
In the Dalton and Bowyer study, the patient's MEG activity was measured without the cancellation process. The Dalton cancellation program was then delivered in the ears of the patient through specially designed miniature ear probes and a second MEG scan was taken.
"The results were beyond my wildest dreams" Dalton said. "One does not need to be an expert to see the effect of the neurological change."
Before (A) and after (B) MEG scans show a clear picture of what is happening in the brain of a patient while the Dalton cancellation stimulus is delivered into the ears. The sounds going into the ears are so quiet that the patient cannot hear them, yet the brain still responds to them. At first the patient must wear a set of hearing aid like devices but as time goes by, the brain's natural plasticity changes so that the tinnitus goes away for a period of time without the devices. In cases where the patient is wearing hearing aids, the tinnitus system can be retrofit onto the hearing aids.
Dalton is excited about the use of the neurological process.
"Just think about the possibilities," he said. "Stuttering, for example, is a neurological disambiguation problem. The loss of speech caused by stroke also may be helped by rerouting the signals of the brain to a portion not damaged by the stroke. Even autism and traumatic brain injury are neurologically-based problems that might be changed with the tinnitus method."
Dalton said future research is being planned by the communication disorders and psychology departments at WTAMU in conjunction with the University of New Mexico Biomedical Research and Integrative Neuroscience Center in Albuquerque.
Artical No. 2: Henry Ford Hospital Tinnitus Program
Doctors at Henry Ford Hospital leads one of the nation's most experienced Tinnitus Programs. A new neurostimulation procedure for patients with disabling tinnitus is offered and our physicians are the first in the world to perform this procedure.
Up to 50 million Americans suffer from tinnitus, a Latin term defined as "tinkling or ringing like a bell." However, the buzzing, clacking, roaring and whistling of this auditory condition can disrupt everyday activities, causing severe distress and depression.
Electrical stimulation of the brain has been used since the 1800s to treat tinnitus, albeit with mixed results. The Henry Ford approach of electrical stimulation of the auditory cortex aims to disrupt the "hearing" of tinnitus. The procedure works by electrically matching the pitch and tone of the tinnitus, effectively jamming the signal and masking the sound.
The procedure first requires brain mapping using Magnetoencephalography (MEG) with an electrode implanted into the auditory cortex. MEG is used to identify the location in the brain where the physiological event originates. This is done by imitating the frequency and pitch of the tinnitus sounds, then introducing them into the patient's ear so a tonotopic map of the auditory cortex can be generated to show the areas that should be excited by neurostimulation.
These areas, or markers, are recorded on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) so they can be registered on a computer. Finally, an electrode is neuronavigated into the predetermined place on the auditory cortex.
The electrodes are buried under the scalp, then guided behind the ear and over the fatty tissue of the clavicle so they can be placed on the pectoral muscle of the chest. The cables are connected to a generator that's programmed while the patient is in the operating room, allowing a signal to be sent that effectively renders the brain incapable of generating nuisance sounds. The final calibration is made about two weeks after surgery.
With continued research and fine-tuning of the procedure, electrical stimulation could become a viable and effective treatment for the treatment of disabling tinnitus. Research is important as there are other places on the auditory cortex where neurostimulation may relieve tinnitus, and research may show where stimulation of a specific area may work for some patients, a different area may require stimulation to work for other patients.
Early results at Henry Ford point to tremendous potential in the application of electrostimulation devices in the influence of tinnitus relief. No therapy promises a 100 percent favorable outcome, but in the end it's the improvement in the patient's quality of life that is the true measure of treatment success.
Article No. 1: Joint Study Provides Advances in WTAMU Tinnitus Research
CANYON, Texas—A major development in tinnitus research last fall at West Texas A&M University has led to a joint study using magnetoencephalography with measurable results.
Dr. Leslie Dalton, visiting professor of communication disorders, recently found that a particular area of the brain can be programmed to suppress the debilitating effects of the phantom sounds of tinnitus, a condition marked by a ringing sound in the ears. He found he could make tinnitus go away by taking advantage of how the auditory system works normally while totally ignoring the phantom sound itself. His research prompted an invitation from the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit to participate in a joint study with Dr. Susan Bowyer, a medical neuroimaging physicist and senior staff investigator at the hospital. Her work demonstrated that tinnitus could be seen in scans using magnetoencephalography (MEG).
"It was a match made in heaven," Dalton said. "Since the cancellation paradigm is a neurological manipulation computer-based program, the MEG is a natural device for demonstrating what the process is doing. It has been especially exciting to actually see the tinnitus on the MEG scan rather than having to rely on what the patient reports as he/she hears or doesn't hear a sound."
Magnetoencephalography is used to map magnetic electrical current occurring naturally in the brain. The method was made possible by the invention of the superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) by a Ford Motor Company engineer. Hundreds of SQUIDs are placed around a patient's head to 'read' the brain activity and can be used in a before and after situation.
In the Dalton and Bowyer study, the patient's MEG activity was measured without the cancellation process. The Dalton cancellation program was then delivered in the ears of the patient through specially designed miniature ear probes and a second MEG scan was taken.
"The results were beyond my wildest dreams" Dalton said. "One does not need to be an expert to see the effect of the neurological change."
Before (A) and after (B) MEG scans show a clear picture of what is happening in the brain of a patient while the Dalton cancellation stimulus is delivered into the ears. The sounds going into the ears are so quiet that the patient cannot hear them, yet the brain still responds to them. At first the patient must wear a set of hearing aid like devices but as time goes by, the brain's natural plasticity changes so that the tinnitus goes away for a period of time without the devices. In cases where the patient is wearing hearing aids, the tinnitus system can be retrofit onto the hearing aids.
Dalton is excited about the use of the neurological process.
"Just think about the possibilities," he said. "Stuttering, for example, is a neurological disambiguation problem. The loss of speech caused by stroke also may be helped by rerouting the signals of the brain to a portion not damaged by the stroke. Even autism and traumatic brain injury are neurologically-based problems that might be changed with the tinnitus method."
Dalton said future research is being planned by the communication disorders and psychology departments at WTAMU in conjunction with the University of New Mexico Biomedical Research and Integrative Neuroscience Center in Albuquerque.
Artical No. 2: Henry Ford Hospital Tinnitus Program
Doctors at Henry Ford Hospital leads one of the nation's most experienced Tinnitus Programs. A new neurostimulation procedure for patients with disabling tinnitus is offered and our physicians are the first in the world to perform this procedure.
Up to 50 million Americans suffer from tinnitus, a Latin term defined as "tinkling or ringing like a bell." However, the buzzing, clacking, roaring and whistling of this auditory condition can disrupt everyday activities, causing severe distress and depression.
Electrical stimulation of the brain has been used since the 1800s to treat tinnitus, albeit with mixed results. The Henry Ford approach of electrical stimulation of the auditory cortex aims to disrupt the "hearing" of tinnitus. The procedure works by electrically matching the pitch and tone of the tinnitus, effectively jamming the signal and masking the sound.
The procedure first requires brain mapping using Magnetoencephalography (MEG) with an electrode implanted into the auditory cortex. MEG is used to identify the location in the brain where the physiological event originates. This is done by imitating the frequency and pitch of the tinnitus sounds, then introducing them into the patient's ear so a tonotopic map of the auditory cortex can be generated to show the areas that should be excited by neurostimulation.
These areas, or markers, are recorded on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) so they can be registered on a computer. Finally, an electrode is neuronavigated into the predetermined place on the auditory cortex.
The electrodes are buried under the scalp, then guided behind the ear and over the fatty tissue of the clavicle so they can be placed on the pectoral muscle of the chest. The cables are connected to a generator that's programmed while the patient is in the operating room, allowing a signal to be sent that effectively renders the brain incapable of generating nuisance sounds. The final calibration is made about two weeks after surgery.
With continued research and fine-tuning of the procedure, electrical stimulation could become a viable and effective treatment for the treatment of disabling tinnitus. Research is important as there are other places on the auditory cortex where neurostimulation may relieve tinnitus, and research may show where stimulation of a specific area may work for some patients, a different area may require stimulation to work for other patients.
Early results at Henry Ford point to tremendous potential in the application of electrostimulation devices in the influence of tinnitus relief. No therapy promises a 100 percent favorable outcome, but in the end it's the improvement in the patient's quality of life that is the true measure of treatment success.
Did I say that... That raises an interesting question. Do any tinnitus researchers actually have it? I know Sam Harris the Phd. neuroscientist/author/atheist//philosopher has it. But he never talks or writes about it.
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