Advances in electrical stimulation-based therapy for tinnitus

Abstract

Tinnitus is a phantom percept of noise heard only by the affected person. The principal problem of persons suffering from tinnitus is the inability to deflect their attention from the phantom sound, resulting in insomnia and problems with concentration, followed by significant health issues. To date, no therapy would relieve patients from the phantom sound. Instead, commonly used therapeutic approaches for tinnitus aim primarily at the reduction of tinnitus-induced distress and are based on various tinnitus habituation methods. Our project aims to quench the tinnitus percept using an implant. To develop such an implant, this research group joined the INTAKT network initiated by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and dedicated to the development of smart implants. During this still ongoing, prospective clinical study, the efficacy of two protocols using electrical stimulation is assessed for tinnitus silencing. The electrical stimulation used in the presented study is non-invasive and applied on three consecutive days in the form of short sessions. In a sample of 48 subjects, following three stimulation sessions, 48% of patients reported a significant reduction of tinnitus loudness; 10% reported a brief increase of tinnitus loudness, and 42% stated no change. In one case, the first course of stimulation led to the total distinguishing of tinnitus. On average, the stimulation did not affect the grade of tinnitus-induced distress during the time of measurement. Our current results prompt us to broaden our investigations, expand the subject sample, and further optimize the stimulation conditions.