Tinnitus: 'Phantom' Ringing Treated With Electromagnetic Pulses Sent To The Brain

People who deal with tinnitus have what's oftentimes described as a "phantom" ringing in the ears that may be constant in some suffering from the health issue. Yet new findings published in the journal JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery suggest that some patients may benefit from a treatment that actually sends electromagnetic pulses into the brain.

"For some study participants, this was the first time in years that they experienced any relief in symptoms. These promising results bring us closer to developing a long-sought treatment for this condition that affects an enormous number of Americans, including many men and women who have served in our armed forces," said Robert L. Folmer, Ph.D., research investigator with the National Center for Rehabilitative Auditory Research at the VA Portland Health Care System and associate professor of Otolarynology/Head and Neck Surgery in the OHSU School of Medicine.

The treatment involves an electric current that runs through a coil placed on the scalp, which then generates a magnetic field that affects nearby brain cells.

For the study, 64 people with significant ringing in their ears were required to fill out questionnaires during the study, while half the participants were randomly assigned to receive 2,000 TMS pulses during sessions over 10 consecutive business days. The other half of the participants received sham TMS, according to a news release. 

Findings revealed that 56 percent of participants receiving TMS improved by the end of the 10 sessions when compared to 22 percent of those who received sham TMS.

Furthermore, none of the study participants dropped out of the trial period due to side effects. (However, some side effects included eye twitching and/or jaw twitching. And in more severe instances of these, pulse intensity was lowered.)

Researchers concluded that larger studies will be needed to better comprehend the long-term results of the new treatment.

Almost 50 million Americans have hearing loss in at least one ear, including 1 in 5 teenagers, and almost
90 percent of tinnitus cases occur with hearing loss, according to the Hearing Health Foundation. 

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