[monk]

Tinnitus Article

Some German researchers are making progress on Tinnitus . Fortunately I've never experienced it, but some of you might have interest in the link ...(found the link on the Audio Asylum General Forum and am just re-posting it here).

M

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Such a coincidence--I was studying for my Biological Psychology exam tomorrow and was reading the part on sensory area reorganization after amputation!

(doesn't sound related unless you read the article

)

 

[pj-]

The french studies look promising too. I'll post a link when I get it.

 

[roll-man]

Very interesting article. Thanks for posting it.

 

[kelly]

So is the idea that the dying hair follicle is similar to losing a limb in the way the brain processes the sudden loss?

 

[monk]

They said the problem is that the *auditory cortex* (what ever that is ?) becomes mixed up ; this doesn't suggest that it has anything to do with the tiny hairs ? At least that was my reading. M.

Quote:

the auditory cortex becomes reorganised. In healthy people, areas of the auditory cortex that respond to different sound frequencies are of similar size. But in people with tinnitus, regions corresponding to the frequencies of the rogue sounds are disproportionately large

 

[Joe Bloggs]

That's the part of the brain--the 'cerebral cortex' that is responsible for processing the input from the hair cells in the ear. Remember--it's not the hair cells themselves that allow you to hear anything, it takes processing in the auditory cortex and other parts of the brain to produce awareness of different sounds.

 

[Mr.PD]

As I sit here listening to the televison AND the ringing in my ears I got very interested in this article. My tinitis was caused by my job. Very loud high pitch squeeling, enough to make my ears vibrate while enduring it for a minute or so at a time 20 times a day 5 days a week for a couple of years. The company forbid us from wearing protection. Then they paid some of us a lot of money for the damage and now require us to wear hearing protection.

I am not sure about the method of treatment in that article. I am under the impression that this is nerve damage of some kind. Maybe the article over simplified the procedure. It is worth keeping up on the progress they make.

Thanks.