Tinnitus discovery could lead to new ways to stop the ringing

[Bosonic]

Neuroscientists at the University of California, Berkeley, are offering hope to the 10 percent of the population who suffer from tinnitus – a constant, often high-pitched ringing or buzzing in the ears that can be annoying and even maddening, and has no cure.

Their new findings, published online last week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggest several new approaches to treatment, including retraining the brain, and new avenues for developing drugs to suppress the ringing.

"This work is the most clearheaded documentation to this point of what's actually happening in the brain's cortex in ways that account for the ongoing genesis of sound," said Michael Merzenich, professor emeritus of otolaryngology at UC San Francisco and inventor of the cochlear implant, who was not involved with the research. "As soon as I read the paper, I said, 'Of course!' It was immediately obvious that this is almost certainly the true way to think about it."

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-tinnitus-discovery-ways.html

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. How very cool!

I've had it forever.....it no longer bothers me.

But still, it would be nice to have it gone.

Mostly I don't hear it...

I take so many NSAIDS for pain relief that I know they caused it.

[elocs]

6. I've had it for years as well; I just don't notice it until it is brought to my attention,

like by what this thread just did.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

13. Then there are those crazy Italians and their witchcraft.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20657537


Panminerva Med. 2010 Jun;52(2 Suppl 1):63-7.
Improvement in cochlear flow with Pycnogenol® in patients with tinnitus: a pilot evaluation.
Grossi MG, Belcaro G, Cesarone MR, Dugall M, Hosoi M, Cacchio M, Ippolito E, Bavera P.
Source

Irvine3 Labs, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Chieti-Pescara University, Pescara, Italy.
Abstract
AIM:

The aim of this preliminary evaluation was to study the efficacy of Pycnogenol in improving cochlear flow in patients with mild-to-moderate tinnitus present for at least two weeks (without vertigo or important hearing loss), possibly associated with cochlear hypo-perfusion.
METHODS:

Patients with mild-to-moderate, idiopatic, monolateral tinnitus present for at least 2 weeks were included; no vertigo or important hearing loss had been found in a specific examination. The origin of tinnitus had been sudden (hours or days). Fifty-eight patients used Pycnogenol: 24 used 150 mg/day (group A; mean age 43.2+/-4.3) and 34 patients 100 mg/day (group B: mean age 42.4+/-3.8). Controls included 24 patients (mean age 42.3+/-4.5). The groups were comparable for their clinical problem and age and sex. The average duration of treatment was 34.3+/-3.1 days. No side effects were observed and no drop-outs occurred.
RESULTS:

The variations in cochlear flow velocity (in cm/s at the cochlear artery), at inclusion and after four weeks of treatment indicated that flow velocity at the level of the affected ear was significantly lower (both the diastolic and systolic components; P<0.05) in comparison with the other ear. The treatment favored an improvement in systolic (P<0.05) and diastolic flow velocity (P<0.05) in the two treatment groups A+B. The increase in flow velocity was very limited and not significant in controls.
CONCLUSION:

These results suggest that in selected patients with tinnitus and altered perfusion, Pycnogenol is effective in a short period of time in relieving tinnitus symptoms by improving cochlear blood flow. The effect is more pronounced with higher Pycnogenol dosage. More studies should be planned to better evaluate the pathology and potential applications of Pycnogenol in a larger number of patients who are currently without a real therapeutic solution.

PMID:
20657537

[DearAbby]

2. This could be awesome

I suffer from this, and yes it is maddening at times. I have had it for as long as I can remember. I wonder what silence sounds like?

[Confusious]

3. It's loud a lot of time... nt

[DearAbby]

9. In my left ear

I put headphones on, I hear higher pitched tones. People's voices sound like munchkins, from the wizard of oz. It has been so long, having silence would be totally alien.

[mahina]

4. Thank you,

I've passed it along to others who need this info. Mahalo!

[Scuba]

5. Please, please, please....

...I could use some relief.

[randr]

7. I have suffered from tinnitus for years

Working on construction sites and handling lots of tools in my shop has been the cause and certainly worsens the ringing if I forget to wear ear protection. Recently I tried a herbal treatment, Clear Tinnitus, that actually worked. After only a few days the ringing was significantly lessened and one morning I was woken up by silence after countless years of background noise. Unfortunately it was only a few days later that I used a saw to cut some metal without my ear plugs and experienced a sharp return of the ringing. Now it is a few weeks later and the ringing is still with me, though not as pronounced. I now keep my ear protection next to the door of my shop. I also have continued with the herbal remedy and give it credit for what relief I have at the moment.

[Odin2005]

8. Oh please, oh please, oh please!!! I'm sick of the ringing!

[hunter]

10. If it's not my aching joints messing with my sleep it's tinnitus.

And, like CaliforniaPeggy, I'm pretty sure it's associated with meds I take or have taken.

[GreenPartyVoter]

11. I've had it since childhood. Not sure if it happens less now or if I just

don't notice it anymore. Would be cool to fix it, tho.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

12. Something to consider.

If life gives you lemons, it is bad news. When your doctor gives you lemons , say thank you.
The treatment of many common ailments is being found in the skin of the much maligned lemon. To be more specific, the extract is called bioflavonoid and it can be be found in many fruits including lemons, oranges, grapefruits, limes and bilberry to name only a few.

What is so intriguing, is the reported successes of it as a side effect free treatment for a very diverse list of symptoms. Just a few of those are;

Anti-inflammatory conditions such as Arthritis
Pain relief from bruising
As an anti-bacterial agent
Treatment of cataracts
Gout

Citrus based bioflavonoids have been long known to boost the absorption of vitamin C, a major antioxidant. One of the most promising use of the citrus extract is for the treatment of Tinnitus. The ability to open the cochlear pathways may suggest more potential for use in capillary related ailments.

Doug A. Kaufmann of knowthecause has written extensively about a possible link between cancer and fungus due to it's byproduct mycotoxin. Antibiotics are themselves mycotoxins. This suggests that antibiotics may be a very bad treatment of cancer. To date, with no cancer cure found in antibiotics or otherwise, this seems a fair assumption. If in fact a link to fungus is found, it may be the lowly extract of the lemon, once again to the rescue, as bioflavonoid is also used as an anti-fungal.

Bilberry has long been a favorite in treating declining vision or sharpening night vision. The bioflavonoid extract from this fruit shows great promise in the treatment of conditions stemming from a week optic nerve and even cataracts.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2621530

[Phoonzang]

14. I'm cautiously hopeful, but I bet one of the side effects

will be increased tinnitus.