Tinnitus may be treatable

Stimulation of the vagus nerve in the neck may be the cure to tinnitus – a persistent ringing in the ears – finds a new study from the University of Texas at Dallas. Currently there is no cure for tinnitus, and treatments involve simply masking the sound or learning to ignore it.

For the study, researchers first caused tinnitus in rats by repeatedly exposing them to the same high-pitched frequencies. They were then able to reverse the effects by pairing vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) with exposure to the same high frequency, says the report, published in the journal Nature.

When stimulated, the vagus nerve releases certain chemicals which work to essentially "reset" the brain. "We are retuning the brain from a state where it generates tinnitus to a state that does not generate tinnitus. We are eliminating the source of the tinnitus," explained Dr. Michael Kilgard, one of the lead authors of the study.

Although its causes are not fully understood, tinnitus develops as a symptom of hearing loss, and effects as many as 23 million adults in the U.S., including about ten percent of senior citizens and 40 percent of military veterans.

VNS is currently used to treat certain cases of epilepsy and depression. Researchers hope to begin clinical trials of VNS treatment for tinnitus sufferers.