March 28, 2024

Why the One-Size-Fits-All Approach to Tinnitus is Not Successful – The Hearing Review

Inside the Research | September 2022 Hearing Review

Although there is still no cure for chronic tinnitus, there are methods to help sufferers improve their situation and quality of life.

By Dr Maren Stropahl

Even though there is no cure for tinnitus today, good approaches that significantly reduce the burden of affected individ…….

Inside the Research | September 2022 Hearing Review

Although there is still no cure for chronic tinnitus, there are methods to help sufferers improve their situation and quality of life.

By Dr Maren Stropahl

Even though there is no cure for tinnitus today, good approaches that significantly reduce the burden of affected individuals are available. Therefore, it is hoped that the message to sufferers that they have to “live with their tinnitus” will become less and less pronounced.

The word tinnitus comes from the Latin word “tinnire,” which means “to ring,” and describes the perception of a sound without being able to attribute it to an external sound source. This type of tinnitus is therefore a purely subjective sensation and can only be perceived by the person affected.1 It is estimated that about 10-15% of the population experience tinnitus.1,2 However, not all tinnitus is the same. The majority of people who experience tinnitus do not find it disturbing, but about 20% of people with tinnitus need clinical support to cope with the noise.3 About 2% of those affected suffer so severely that their daily lives and quality of life are significantly impaired2 (see Chart 1). The coronavirus pandemic could exacerbate this effect. 

Facts About Tinnitus. Top left: Prevalence; top right: Potential triggers of tinnitus; Bottom left: Distribution of impairment; Bottom right: prevalence of hearing loss among people with tinnitus. Copyright by Sonova Audiological Care 

The exact cause of tinnitus has not been definitively determined to date. Experts nowadays believe that tinnitus is not just a problem of the auditory organ, but originates either in the peripheral, central, or even outside auditory brain regions. It is most likely a complex interaction between central and peripheral mechanisms and is usually associated with some form of hearing loss.1,2 It has been shown that in the case of tinnitus there is often abnormal overactivity of neurons in the brain, as well as abnormal synchronous firing activity of neurons.2,6  It seems that not only the auditory centers of the brain affected because other cortical networks also show an alteration. Recent findings lead to the assumption that a large proportion (about 90%) of people with tinnitus have a hearing loss, even if it is not always measurable.1 In addition to hearing loss, the development of tinnitus is often associated with age, increased noise exposure, and stress.1,7

Tinnitus is considered acute if its onset is perceived within the last 3 months and chronic when it persists for more than 6 months.1 The approaches to treatment for acute and chronic tinnitus are very different and for the purpose of this summary, only chronic tinnitus will be …….

Source: https://hearingreview.com/hearing-loss/tinnitus/tinnitus-therapy/why-the-one-size-fits-all-approach-to-tinnitus-is-not-successful