Current location:International Informer news portal > opinions
The headphones that could ease tinnitus with a radical new treatment
International Informer news portal2024-05-21 14:21:02【opinions】4People have gathered around
IntroductionHeadphones that swap sounds from one ear to the other could be a radical new treatment for tinnitus
Headphones that swap sounds from one ear to the other could be a radical new treatment for tinnitus — the ringing noise in the ears that affects around five million people in the UK.
When a noise comes from the wearer's right-hand side, it is picked up by a microphone in the headphones and re-routed to the left ear. The opposite happens with sounds emanating from the left.
Scientists think jumbling the direction of sound, with the eyes telling the brain it's coming from one place but the ears telling it the opposite, helps to 'rewire' the auditory nerve (which connects the ear to the brain). And this 'turns down' the tinnitus.
The idea for headphones treatment came from mirror therapy, which is used for phantom limb pain (Stock Image)
Results published in the Journal of the American Academy of Audiology in 2022 showed 18 volunteers experienced significant improvements in their symptoms (stock photo)
The results of a small trial suggest that using the headsets for two hours a day for three weeks significantly reduces tinnitus. Many people suffer temporary tinnitus, but for around one in 100, the ringing is long term and is often combined with hearing loss.
READ MORE: Have scientists cracked cancer mystery in young people? Experts think they've pinpointed bodily changes that are driving skyrocketing cancer rates in under 50sAdvertisement
When the ears are exposed to loud noise or infections, tiny hair cells that transmit sounds to the brain become stressed and emit excess quantities of a chemical called glutamate. This 'glutamate storm' over-stimulates — and eventually kills — nerve cells in the inner ear, which send sound impulses to the auditory cortex, the part of the brain that processes noise.
T his leaves cells in the auditory cortex switched on so they constantly relay sound to the brain, causing people to 'hear' ringing, for instance. In some, the cells remain in this 'switched on' state.
By this point, it is more difficult to treat. There are no drugs for it, and treatments include talking therapy, which helps patients live with the condition, or sound therapy, where background noise is used to distract them.
The idea for headphones treatment came from mirror therapy, which is used for phantom limb pain — where amputees still feel pain from the removed limb. By 'hiding' their affected limb behind a mirror which reflects the healthy limb, and focusing on this reflection, the brain is 'tricked' into thinking both limbs are intact. Studies suggest this leads to rewiring in the brain that reduces the perception of pain.
Scientists at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Massachusetts in the U.S., who developed the prototype headphones, think they work in a similar way, 'rewiring' connections between nerve cells so they no longer register tinnitus as a real external sound.
Results published in the Journal of the American Academy of Audiology in 2022 showed 18 volunteers experienced significant improvements in their symptoms. Now a trial is under way with 50 patients who will wear the headphones for three hours a day for three weeks, or a regular pair that play noise into the ear closest to the noise source. The results are expected later this year.
Commenting on the treatment, Dr Will Sedley, a lecturer in neurology at Newcastle University, said: 'It's a neat idea, but we need the results of the trial before we can say it works. In the meantime, the one thing we know does work well for many people is talking therapy.'
Address of this article:http://gabon.spaceforanything.com/html-86f699904.html
Very good!(96587)
Related articles
- Rangers are undefeated at .500 to keep World Series champs from a losing record with Bochy
- Xi Focus: Seeking Harmony with Nature, Xi Steers China's Green Transition
- Maradona buried as Argentina pays last respects to legend
- Zhangjiakou is ready for the 2022 Winter Olympics
- Iran helicopter crash that killed President Raisi could reverberate across the Middle East
- Xi Jinping's Selected Works Published in 7 Ethnic Minority Languages
- Xi Jinping and the Revival of Baiyangdian Lake
- Super Bowl to host 22,000 fans
- Messi in and Dybala out in Argentina squad for pre
- Benitez's Dalian side held to draw by Shanghai Shenhua in Chinese Super League
Popular articles
Recommended
Iran helicopter crash that killed President Raisi could reverberate across the Middle East
Xi in My Eyes
Highlights of Chinese National Swimming Championships
Xi Focus: Seeking Harmony with Nature, Xi Steers China's Green Transition
Shohei Ohtani's first walk
Highlights of CBA 5th round match
Xi Calls on Young People to Promote World Peace, Development
China to trial unilateral visa
Links
- Sizzling Phillies finish homestand 8
- Kyle Hendricks struggles again in 5th start this season for the Chicago Cubs
- Atletico misses chance to strengthen hold on 4th place after losing at Alaves in Spanish league
- Taylor Swift's new single Fortnight breaks record for Spotify's most streamed song in a single day
- Elena Rybakina beats Marta Kostyuk 6
- Tens of thousands of Colombians protest against leftist president's reform agenda
- Chinese foreign minister arrives in Cambodia, Beijing's closest Southeast Asian ally
- Conductor Andrew Davis dies at 80, headed Lyric Opera of Chicago and orchestras on 3 continents
- Suspect in killing of Idaho sheriff's deputy fatally shot by police, authorities say
- Jesús Sánchez hits a long solo homer as the Marlins beat the Cubs 6