How could tinnitus be cured?
December 31, 2009
ღFallenAngelღ asked: Please help i need to know for my presentation. Thanks in advance =]
Angela
Tags: Thanks In Advance, Tinnitus
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Posted on January 2nd, 2010 at 2:08 pm
The trouble in finding a cure for tinnitus is that it is manifested in so many ways:
exposure to loud noise resulting in hearing loss
ear and sinus infections
blows to the head
tumours
intracranial surgery
ototoxic drugs
depression and anxiety
drug withdrawal
to name the main causes. It is not going to be like the cure for cancer where we suddenly develop a method that enables antibodies to discriminate between normal cells and cancerous cells. In comparison it would seem the cancer cure is a much easier task.
Unless of course the solution to finding a cure for tinnitus is focussed on the common characteristic that each of the causes has and that is how the auditory cortex is perceiving the spurious signal being fed into the brain. For any tinnitus sufferer at some time an irregular signal has been detected and the flight or flight response has kicked in. The duration of the resulting state of anxiety is going to vary depending on the individual. For some it will be brief and the noise will be accepted into the auditory cortex’s library of familiar sounds for others the sound will continue to be threatening and unacceptable. For these people the habituation process is slower, lasting months even years.
So how does modern medicine cure tinnitus? As an electrical engineer I could see this being done using an electronic device that stimulates the auditory cortex so as to negate the tinnitus signal. It should be possible with today’s technology to build a focussed EEG that can monitor the characteristics of the auditory cortex. A benchmark can be established by listening to an array of different sounds. Anything else that is measured beyond the background noise is the patient’s tinnitus signal. Once determined, a counter signal could be generated by the device that could be applied to the recipients head directly above the auditory cortex.
I have had tinnitus myself for two years. I am aware of it most of the time. My personality and my health at the time didn’t let me let go of it. It is an unpleasant condition and I feel for fellow sufferers. I feel disappointed when I look at the research which is being done world wide. For a condition that affects so many people there should be a lot more money contributed to Tinnitus Research. The little research that is being carried out appears to have limited hope of providing any breakthroughs.
I sometimes think we the sufferers should band together and form our own association. As a group we would certainly have the motivation, empathy and I’m sure quite a few of us would have the skills to present cases to appropriate parties.
Posted on January 5th, 2010 at 8:49 am
I don’t think it can, it’s a horrable way to go, joints swell and tighten, my father was a Dr. he said he saw cases of it, he said it was aweful !