• Constant tinnitus is linked to altered b

    From ScienceDaily@1:317/3 to All on Wed Jan 26 21:30:42 2022
    Constant tinnitus is linked to altered brain activity

    Date:
    January 26, 2022
    Source:
    Karolinska Institutet
    Summary:
    There has to date been no reliable objective method of diagnosing
    tinnitus. Researchers now show that brainstem audiometry can be used
    to measure changes in the brain in people with constant tinnitus.



    FULL STORY ========================================================================== There has to date been no reliable objective method of diagnosing
    tinnitus.

    Researchers from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden now show that brainstem audiometry can be used to measure changes in the brain in people with
    constant tinnitus. The study has been published in The Journal of
    Clinical Investigation.


    ========================================================================== Tinnitus is currently not classified as a distinct disorder, but as
    a symptom with many possible causes, such as impaired hearing, noise,
    disease or stress.

    Tinnitus is often described as a phantom sound that is only audible to
    the sufferer. Today, some 20 per cent of the Swedish population has some
    form of tinnitus, and the risk increases with age.

    Measuring brain activity The degree of tinnitus severity is currently
    defined by a process of self- rating. A study by scientists at
    Karolinska Institutet conducted in collaboration with the company
    Decibel Therapeutics has now shown that auditory brainstem responses
    (ABR) is a possible objective diagnostic tool in identifying people with constant tinnitus. ABR measures the activity of the brain in response
    to a specific sequence of sound stimuli.

    "We believe that our ABR method can be sufficiently sensitive to be used
    as a diagnostic tool," says Christopher R. Cederroth, researcher at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet. "The
    method measures the actual neural alterations in the brainstem in people
    with constant tinnitus, which could become a future biomarker.

    Acknowledgement for patients ABR has previously been put forward
    as a tool for measuring tinnitus, but it has not reached scientific
    consensus. No earlier study has, however, included as many participants
    as this one. Here, the researchers have done ABR measurements on 405 individuals, 228 with tinnitus and 177 without. They observed in people
    with constant tinnitus a clear difference in the measures when compared to people without tinnitus, or people who rated their tinnitus as occasional.

    "We need an objective diagnostic method for tinnitus, both to acknowledge
    the condition to sufferers and to promote the development of new
    therapies," says Christopher R. Cederroth. "Our study suggests a causal relationship between such alterations in the brain's neural activity and
    the development of constant tinnitus, but we need to do more studies
    to verify this. We also need to determine if our method can measure
    a therapeutic benefit." Tinnitus is exacerbated The researchers also
    followed over 20,000 people with no or varying degrees of tinnitus in
    order to track how the symptoms develop over time. Here the researchers
    showed that people with occasional tinnitus are at increased risk of
    developing constant tinnitus, especially if it recurs often. The study
    also found that for those who already experience constant tinnitus,
    the chances are that the problem will persist.

    "It's important to know that if you've had recurring tinnitus, you're
    more likely to develop lasting tinnitus," adds Dr Cederroth. "We need to
    spread this information so that people with occasional tinnitus become
    aware of the risks and have the chance to act preventatively." The study
    was conducted in collaboration with the Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm University, the University of Bergen and Decibel Therapeutics
    Inc. It was financed by several bodies, including the Swedish Research
    Council, the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare (FORTE), the Stockholm Stress Centre, the GENDER-Net Co-Plus Fund "TIGER"
    and the EU's Horizon 2020 "ESIT" and "UNITI" programmes.

    special promotion Explore the latest scientific research on sleep and
    dreams in this free online course from New Scientist -- Sign_up_now_>>> ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Karolinska_Institutet. Note: Content
    may be edited for style and length.


    ========================================================================== Journal Reference:
    1. Niklas K. Edvall, Golbarg Mehraei, Martin Claeson, Andra Lazar, Jan
    Bulla, Constanze Leineweber, Inger Uhle'n, Barbara Canlon,
    Christopher R.

    Cederroth. Alterations in auditory brainstem response distinguish
    occasional and constant tinnitus. Journal of Clinical Investigation,
    2022; DOI: 10.1172/JCI155094 ==========================================================================

    Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/01/220126122458.htm

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