Posted on 05/04/2011 7:38:19 AM PDT by Red Badger
Researchers at The University of Western Australia have shown changes in a part of the brain previously not known to be involved in tinnitus generation.
The nerve cell types and the chemistry of the neural circuitry in this part of the brain differ subtly from those other parts of the brain previously thought to be involved. This means the results published in The Journal of Neuroscience could be potentially important for the future development of drug treatments.
Tinnitus is a potentially debilitating disorder of hearing which is characterised by the perception of non-existent sounds, usually roaring, hissing or ringing in the ears.
The changes in the brain that cause tinnitus are poorly understood. It is clear however that alterations in nerve cell electrical behaviour must underlie the abnormal "phantom" perception of sound that is experienced by tinnitus sufferers.
For many years, the exact site in the brain where this abnormal nerve cell behaviour occurs has been a contentious issue.
The research, performed by student Darryl Vogler, Professor Donald Robertson and Associate Professor Wilhelmina Mulders, has developed a reliable animal model which can induce tinnitus and also measure brain cell activity.
"This is an important step toward further research in this area," Associate Professor Mulders said.
"If we can establish a direct link between this increased brain cell activity and tinnitus we may be able to move a step closer to finding a way to treat tinnitus."
The paper titled Hyperactivity in the Ventral Cochlear Nucleus after Cochlear Trauma concludes that hyperactivity in this part of the brainstem therefore needs to be considered in relation to further neural research into tinnitus.
Contact: Janine MacDonald, UWA Public Affairs, Tel: (+61 8) 6488 5563, Email: janine.macdonald@uwa.edu.au
Source: The University of Western Australia
If you want ON or OFF the Tinnitus Ring List just Ring me up!...........
Ring!.........
Doesn’t sound like phantom noise to me.
How do they know when an animal test subject has tinnitus?
Sounds like the high pitched sound given off by the old TV sets when they were turned on.
Me neither, I’ve got it bad but just in my left ear.
Badge! Definitely put me on your ping list! I have it,,, terribly! People think I’m deaf. I’m not! It’s just that the tinnitus is louder than people speak!
I had a case of tinitus about five years ago. Popped out of nowhere and bugged me for several years. At first, being unaware of tinitus, I wandered around the house trying to find the source of the sound for several hours. I even walked outside, thinking it might be coming from a neighbors home. I finally realized it was all in my head. lol
It took a handful of years for the buzzing to go away finally. Doctor never found a cause and we chalked it up to severe stress.
When I was about 5-7 (some time ago I admit)I could tell who had their tvs on as I rode my bicycle down the road past their houses. I would get a ringing in my ears if it was on. I don’t get it from the tvs anymore - I imagine it was related to the tube sets. But periodically I still get the ring come up for no apparent reason - I’m always looking for a source when that happens, but haven’t been able to correlate it yet. I’m hoping it isn’t just tinnitus developing over time.
I had tinnitus and inner ear problems for about ten years. The tinnitus was mild (coming and going) but the dizziness could really get me at times. I had to place the palms of my hands flat on the mattress to stop the “spins” at night when I slept.
One day I took some Brewer’s yeast, and I felt SO much better - in a lot of ways. So I painstakingly went through all the ingredients in trials, to find out what was helping me. Turned out to be Chromium.
Since I’ve been taking chromium it’s been rare I’ve had a problem. It came back when I had anemia, and when I took a little too much aspirin. A lot of things can cause it. But for me, chromium was the answer.
You catch him dancing when there isn’t any music.
Please add me to your list. Thanks!
You catch him dancing when there isn’t any music.
I have the ‘crickets’ type...I’ve always been an out doors guy so it doesn’t bother me too much.
RESULTS: Patients with tinnitus and NIHL exhibited vitamin B12 deficiency in 47% of cases (blood levels < or = 250 pg/mL). This was significantly more (P < .023) compared with NIHL and normal subjects who exhibited vitamin B12 deficiency in 27% and 19%, respectively.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8484483
Add to it the sound of the old fluorescent light ballasts going bad and you’ve got it.
Thanks for your post. I’ll give it a try.
I think I'm finally at that point. Hearing loss runs in my family, so I knew someday I'd likely need hearing assistance. Ugh.
“How do they know when an animal test subject has tinnitus?”
An excellent question indeed.
I wish those phantoms would hold it down a bit!
How do they know when an animal test subject has tinnitus?
They look at the eyes..............
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