New University of Michigan Tinnitus Discovery — Signal Timing

[t-man]

I must agree with Eric, I have emailed Dr.Shore and I was not very impressed.
The research is still in the animal model stage and I didn`t get the impression that it was spectacular. She said IF animal tests will succeed, human trials could begin in at least one year from now.

That's still very quick for any treatment. Of course this is supposedly non evasive.

 

[Linds]

Lidocaine administered intravenously stop tinnitus temporarly but it can't be used regularly because of the side effects: heart failure being the most common problem.

Drugs like AM101 are supposed to be some kind of stripped down variation of lidocaine, or ketamine, etc... i'm no expert but they want to target some receptors without any side effect.

Hey James, Thanks for your input.
Very interesting indeed.

 

[Danil]

Believe me everybody,..after 5 years from now,no body will suffer of tinnitus on earth.,atleast 10 good successful treatment are on the way..the tinnitus mechanism is understood since less then 2 years..Researchs in last 5 years are more in quantity than what all scientifics did in last 100 year..Just patience my friends..God has created uss to suffer for a while but not for a whole life..he is the one who will guide those researchers to find us the pill witch stop our T...before i got T those were the days...and 5 ears from now i promise you all,you will enjoy the days again

 

[Tenna]

I put my faith in the doctors and researchers, they seem to be doing a pretty alright job without guidance
The signal timing is quite an interesting concept and maybe it can explain why I once in a while can disrupt certain tones with eyemovements too!

 

[dan]

Dr.Shore suggested to me I try acupuncture for my tinnitus!
She also does not a have a deep understanding of tinnitus at all - Im talking about on a brain level.
All these "researchers" are doing is poking in the dark and seeing if rats get cured.
If I were to bet I would put some money on a drug approach like Autifony - at least in their animal model, all rats
had tinnitus abolished. Now to apply to humans.
There are no "at least 10 good successful treatments" right now. For example we know VNS was only effective in 4 out of 10 patients and only in those who were not on medication - I guess a lot of us will have to "get clean" haha.

 

[jes]

Thats why they wil not comunicate with tinnitus talk.

 

[LadyDi]

Dr.Shore suggested to me I try acupuncture for my tinnitus!
She also does not a have a deep understanding of tinnitus at all - Im talking about on a brain level.
All these "researchers" are doing is poking in the dark and seeing if rats get cured.
If I were to bet I would put some money on a drug approach like Autifony - at least in their animal model, all rats
had tinnitus abolished. Now to apply to humans.
There are no "at least 10 good successful treatments" right now. For example we know VNS was only effective in 4 out of 10 patients and only in those who were not on medication - I guess a lot of us will have to "get clean" haha.

Hey Dan, this isn't exactly on topic...

But when I started getting all of my tinnitus treatments at the University of Miami, where they do a lot of research, I met an inner ear surgeon who is looking at the affects of acupuncture on tinnitus. So I had about 16 sessions with him. And you know, it helped some. He told me in advance that it wouldn't make the T go away, and it didn't. But it quieted it down. Unfortunately, he said most patients eventually plateau with the treatment and that also happened with me. But I am glad I did it.

So I don't think the fact that Dr. Shore suggested tinnitus as a treatment shows that she knows nothing about tinnitus. It's being used in many places, and has been tried by others on this board.

There are many other treatments out there than can ease the symptom for SOME patients in SOME cases. What there is not is a cure. When it comes, I don't think one size will fit all, as I said above.

And that's what research is: poking in the dark. Eventually (hopefully), you poke into the right corner and the light comes on. That's how medical advancements begin.

 

[_Joe_]

thanks for the update Karen. I have emailed Dr. Sore a few times, I told her I would like to be a test subject, she said I did qualify because my T goes higher when there is compression on my jaw, she told me that they are not ready yey for human testing. UofM is only about 60 miles from me.

Maybe I'll get a email one day telling me to come on down

I live in southeast Michigan as well and have also made an inquiry. Maybe I'll see you there if it ever happens, ha. One of my tinnitus frequencies (somewhere between tonal and crickets) in the left ear only is modulated a lot with jaw movement and a little with facial muscle movements.

 

[gary]

I live in southeast Michigan as well and have also made an inquiry. Maybe I'll see you there if it ever happens, ha. One of my tinnitus frequencies (somewhere between tonal and crickets) in the left ear only is modulated a lot with jaw movement and a little with facial muscle movements.

Hi Joe, when I put a pressure with my fingers on my upper jaw it raises it quite a bit, also if I press down on my head. As you can see, I live in Macomb. Maybe we can ride down together....

 

[erik]

Thank God they can get rid of tinnitus in mice, rats, gerbils and chinchillas and on to the humans please!

 

[Tenna]

Thank God they can get rid of tinnitus in mice, rats, gerbils and chinchillas and on to the humans please!

When they do that, is that because they restore hearing loss/the itty bitty hairs, or just remove tinnitus, or it differs?
And does anyone have a timeline of perhaps equivalent studies done from mice to men, in regards to developing treatments initially successful on mice which today work on human? I know it's incomparible, yet it would be wonderful seeing how potentially short future prospects are

 

[frohike]

I know it's incomparible, yet it would be wonderful seeing how potentially short future prospects are

There is one animal model where they load mice with booze so they don't know which way is up or how to walk straight . Human trials are scheduled for new year's eve.

Some animal models disregard side effects. They just check a theory, or a new compound with very high doses. This one about cell regeneration is awesome http://www.cell.com/neuron/abstract/S0896-6273(12)00953-1 but it results in uncontrolled growth. They don't know what DNA buttons to press to shut down the regeneration.

Research increases knowledge by exploring nature, and only sometimes it stumbles onto practical applications. It's not going to be a straight line I suppose. Which also means... what a nice surprise we will receive one day!

 

[SISKO]

Anybody heard about thhttp://www.engin.umich.edu/college/about/news/stories/2013/june/ringing-in-your-earsis ?

 

[Hudson]

Yes, it's the same topic as was being discussed in this thread:

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/new-univ-of-michigan-tinnitus-discovery-signal-timing.2805/

 

[Danil]

January 07, 2014

Fascinating research from the University of Michigan has illuminated some amazing new results:

She explains that in tinnitus, some of the input to the brain from the ear's cochlea is reduced, while signals from the somatosensory nerves of the face and neck, related to touch, are excessively amplified.

"It's as if the signals are compensating for the lost auditory input, but they overcompensate and end up making everything noisy," says Shore.

The new findings illuminate the relationship between tinnitus, hearing loss and sensory input and help explain why many tinnitus sufferers can change the volume and pitch of their tinnitus's sound by clenching their jaw, or moving their head and neck.

But it's not just the combination of loud noise and overactive somatosensory signals that are involved in tinnitus, the researchers report.

It's the precise timing of these signals in relation to one another that prompt the changes in the nervous system's plasticity mechanisms, which may lead to the symptoms known to tinnitus sufferers.

This research has implications for treatment:

Shore is now working with other students and postdoctoral fellows to develop a device that uses the new knowledge about the importance of signal timing to alleviate tinnitus. The device will combine sound and electrical stimulation of the face and neck in order to return to normal the neural activity in the auditory pathway.

"If we get the timing right, we believe we can decrease the firing rates of neurons at the tinnitus frequency, and target those with hyperactivity," says Shore. She and her colleagues are also working to develop pharmacological manipulations that could enhance stimulus timed plasticity by changing specific molecular targets.


Source:

http://www.audionotch.com/blog/tinn...s-promise-in-developing-therapy-for-tinnitus/​

 

[DebInAustralia]

Interesting.
I think thats how mutebutton works

 

[Per]

@Danil,

Thanks for sharing that article and the info. Seems interesting to me, in my opinion they may be onto something. Good to see someone thinking out of the box, other than the "hearing loss --> T-->hair cell theory.

 

[Leopardi]

January 07, 2014

Fascinating research from the University of Michigan has illuminated some amazing new results:

She explains that in tinnitus, some of the input to the brain from the ear's cochlea is reduced, while signals from the somatosensory nerves of the face and neck, related to touch, are excessively amplified.

"It's as if the signals are compensating for the lost auditory input, but they overcompensate and end up making everything noisy," says Shore.

The new findings illuminate the relationship between tinnitus, hearing loss and sensory input and help explain why many tinnitus sufferers can change the volume and pitch of their tinnitus's sound by clenching their jaw, or moving their head and neck.

But it's not just the combination of loud noise and overactive somatosensory signals that are involved in tinnitus, the researchers report.

It's the precise timing of these signals in relation to one another that prompt the changes in the nervous system's plasticity mechanisms, which may lead to the symptoms known to tinnitus sufferers.

This research has implications for treatment:

Shore is now working with other students and postdoctoral fellows to develop a device that uses the new knowledge about the importance of signal timing to alleviate tinnitus. The device will combine sound and electrical stimulation of the face and neck in order to return to normal the neural activity in the auditory pathway.

"If we get the timing right, we believe we can decrease the firing rates of neurons at the tinnitus frequency, and target those with hyperactivity," says Shore. She and her colleagues are also working to develop pharmacological manipulations that could enhance stimulus timed plasticity by changing specific molecular targets.


Source:

http://www.audionotch.com/blog/tinn...s-promise-in-developing-therapy-for-tinnitus/​

Finally some real explanations related to my tinnitus.

 

[dan]

Presentaion of Dr.Susan Shore PhD. and tinnitus researcher.

watch the video at 1:07:00
Quote,
"If you wanted to like develop new drug treatments for tinnitus, which I don't think is a good idea anyways...........................Ideally what you want to do is prevent the cochlear damage, or if you can't do that, you want to regenerate the auditory nerve fibres, so that you're maintaining the input into the cochlear nucleus, and then you can combine that with a device [her invention] you know, and maybe you've got a new treatment."
--------------------------

Dr.Shore, so what your're saying is we'll just have wait for stem cells. Well at least she's optimistic.

 

[andyman]

It mentions in the article that a patent is pending. I tried looking it up on the US Patent system and couldn't find anything. Does anyone have any further info about the patent?

Also, given that this research seems to reference input from the somatosensory nerves, does that mean this treatment would only work on somatic tinnitus (i.e. non-ear related tinntus)?

 

[jazz]

It mentions in the article that a patent is pending. I tried looking it up on the US Patent system and couldn't find anything. Does anyone have any further info about the patent?

Also, given that this research seems to reference input from the somatosensory nerves, does that mean this treatment would only work on somatic tinnitus (i.e. non-ear related tinntus)?

@andyman

Two things to consider. First, most people with tinnitus have a somatic component. This doesn't mean you have TMJ or cervical issues. But if you can modulate your tinnitus by moving your jaw then you probably have a somatic component.

Second, regardless of somatic issues, there are several types of non-pharmaceutical interventions under research. Interventions like rTMS, DBS (brain implants), neurofeedback, etc.--all these may also work for many types of tinnitus--regardless of its etiologies.

No reason to worry if you're not eligible for Shore's treatment; she's offering one of many interventions within the next five-to-ten years.

 

[Hudson]

@andyman

Two things to consider. First, most people with tinnitus have a somatic component. This doesn't mean you have TMJ or cervical issues. But if you can modulate your tinnitus by moving your jaw then you probably have a somatic component.

Second, regardless of somatic issues, there are several types of non-pharmaceutical interventions under research. Interventions like rTMS, DBS (brain implants), neurofeedback, etc.--all these may also work for many types of tinnitus--regardless of its etiologies.

No reason to worry if you're not eligible for Shore's treatment; she's offering one of many interventions within the next five-to-ten years.

Have you spoken with her about this?

 

[jazz]

@Hudson No, I have not spoken to her. I'm just an admirer of her work!

 

[Zimichael]

This came via the Autifony thread and a link nills posted regarding work Susan Shore is doing on tinnitus. I Googled her and came up with a vast amount of stuff. Have not even begun to look at a lot of it, but she indeed seems to be in the thick of it.

However, this video caught my interest so I did a search here, on this TT site and came up with nothing specific re. "Michigan Engineering" and was wondering if I just missed it somewhere?



If this has been covered somewhere already can someone be so good as to point me too it.

Thanks, Zimichael

 

[lapidus]

I think this thread is about this:
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/new-univ-of-michigan-tinnitus-discovery-signal-timing.2805/

 

[Zimichael]

Thanks everyone...Yeah, this is the thread I needed. Indeed looks like Susan Shore is a busy lady!

 

[Zimichael]

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....Yeah, on closer observation this seems similar in "hopes theory" to a number of other research ideas out there, but I tend to agree that for many of us giving the brain an "electrical" kick-in-the-head so the actual tinnitus neuron firing loop (wherever the hell that seems to be located in there = all over the place seemingly!) gets freaked out and re-sets, could be the way to go. Whether this be via a VNS type modality, deep brain stimulation, or even a drug combined with sound stimulation, I don't really care. As long as it works...and is safe of course.
Whoever does come up with the most successful approach is sure going to get rich quick! [Always fun to see how often 'public funded' research at universities starts something, then it morphs into private funded follow-up, then the inevitable patent, then the private company afterwards. Oh well, the 'real world' I guess].

Best, Zimichael

 

[jazz]

http://www.audionotch.com/blog/tinn...s-promise-in-developing-therapy-for-tinnitus/

Here's the link to the full article that appeared on AudioNotch:

http://www.uofmhealth.org/news/arch...s-discovery-opens-door-possible-new-treatment

Here's the link to her most recent research article listed in PubMed:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24336728

Of note is Shore's ability to get NIH funding. For 2014 alone, for example, she has secured over $500K. And this is not her first NIH grant. All totaled, since 2001, she's received over $4.4M in funding from the NIH.

Government funding is pivotal for researchers like Shore. Hopefully, her research will result in a device to mitigate or eliminate the tinnitus signal for many tinnitus sufferers. But, even if her device is not successful, her research is still pivotal for understanding tinnitus generation and maintenance in the dorsal cochlear nucleus.

 

[jchinnis]

As in many other cases, this work on tinnitus by Dr. Shore was initially funded by the American Tinnitus Association. The small directly-funded grants enabled Dr. Shore to compete for much larger funding from government sponsors such as the National Institutes of Health.

 

[Zimichael]

Jazz... Hey thanks for the links. Indeed, if it's anything like some of the things that came out of the weird, left field seeming research that NASA did in 'space race' days, then just pushing the frontiers could lead almost anywhere at this point. [Apro-pos, as Tinnitus gyrations seem about as complex as putting Apollo on the moon!]

I guess this below is "all good" as I sure as daylights can't understand most of it apart from the esoteric nether-world of brain plasticity at work again:

J Neurosci. 2013 Dec 11;33(50):19647-56. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2788-13.2013.
Stimulus timing-dependent plasticity in dorsal cochlear nucleus is altered in tinnitus. Koehler SD1, Shore SE.
Author information

Abstract
Tinnitus and cochlear damage have been associated with changes in somatosensory-auditory integration and plasticity in the dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN). Recently, we demonstrated in vivo that DCN bimodal plasticity is stimulus timing-dependent, with Hebbian and anti-Hebbian timing rules that reflect in vitro spike timing-dependent plasticity. In this in vivo study, we assessed the stimulus timing dependence of bimodal plasticity in a tinnitus model. Guinea pigs were exposed to a narrowband noise that produced a temporary elevation of auditory brainstem response thresholds. A total of 60% of the guinea pigs developed tinnitus as indicated by gap-induced prepulse inhibition of the acoustic startle. After noise exposure and tinnitus induction, stimulus timing-dependent plasticity was measured by comparing responses to sound before and after paired somatosensory and auditory stimulation presented with varying intervals and orders. In comparison with Sham and noise-exposed animals that did not develop tinnitus, timing rules in verified tinnitus animals were more likely to be anti-Hebbian and broader for those bimodal intervals in which the neural activity showed enhancement. Furthermore, units from exposed animals with tinnitus were more weakly suppressed than either Sham animals or exposed animals without tinnitus. The broadened timing rules in the enhancement phase in animals with tinnitus, and in the suppressive phase in exposed animals without tinnitus was in contrast to narrow, Hebbian-like timing rules in Sham animals. These findings implicate alterations in DCN bimodal spike timing-dependent plasticity as underlying mechanisms in tinnitus, opening the way for a therapeutic target.

KEYWORDS:
bimodal, cochlear damage, noise damage, plasticity, somatosensory, tinnitus

Best, Zimichael