::Low-pitch Treatment ::

This article has been taken from the March 2007 edition of Tinnitus Talk It is an interesting article and may be a cheap and practical idea to try.

LOW-PITCH TREATMENT ALLEVIATES RINGER SOUND OF TINNITUS

For those who pumped up the volume one too many times, UC Irvine researchers may have found a treatment for the hearing damage loud music can cause.

Fan-Gang Zeng and colleagues have identified an effective way to treat the symptoms of tinnitus. A low pitched sound, the researchers discovered, applied by simple MP3 player suppressed and provided temporary relief from the high pitch ringing tone associated with the disorder. Some treatments exist, but none are consistently effective.

Zeng presented his study on Feb 13 at the Middle Winter Research Conference for Otolaryngology in Denver.

“Tinnitus is one of the most common hearing disorders in the world, but very little is understood about why it occurs or how to treat it,” said Zeng, a professor of otolaryngology, biomedical engineering, cognitive sciences, and anatomy and neurobiology. “We are very pleased and surprised by the success of this therapy, and hopefully with further testing it will provide needed relief to the millions who suffer from tinnitus.”

As director of the speech and hearing lab at UCI, Zeng and his team made their discovery while addressing the severe tinnitus as a research subject. The patient uses a cochlear implant to address a constant mid-range pitched sound in his injured right ear accented by periodic piercing of a high pitched ringing sound ranging between 4.00 and 8,000 hertz in frequency.

At first, Zeng thought of treating the tinnitus with a high –pitched sound, a method called masking that is sometimes used in tinnitus therapy attempts. But he ruled out the option because of the severity of the patient’s tinnitus, so an opposite approach was explored, which provided unexpectedly effective results.

After making many adjustments, the researchers created a low-pitch pulsing sound - described as a “calming, pleasant tone” of 40 to 100 hertz frequency—which, when applied to the patient through a regular MP3 player, suppressed the high pitched ringing after about 90 seconds and provided what the patient described as a high –level for continued relief.

Zeng’s patient, programs the low-pitched sound through his cochlear implant, and Zeng is currently studying how to apply this treatment for people who do not use any hearing –aid devices. Since a cochlear implant replaces the damaged mechanism in the ear that stimulates the auditory nerve, Zeng believes that a properly pitched acoustic sound will have the same effect on tinnitus for someone who does not use a hearing device. Dr Hamid Djalilian, a UCI physician who treats hearing disorders, points out that a custom sound can be created for the patients, who then can download it into their personal MP3 player and use if when they need relief.

“the treatment , though, does not represent a cure,” Zeng said “this low –pitched therapeutic approach is only effective while being applied to the ear, after which the ringing can return. But it underscores the need to customize stimulation for tinnitus suppression and suggests that balanced stimulation, rather than masking, is the brain mechanism underlying this surprising finding.‘

PSYCHOTHERAPY QUIETS CONCERNS OVER RINGING IN THE EARS

Psychotherapy may help tinnitus sufferers cope with the life disturbances that sometimes accompany their condition, according to the new review of studies. A counselling method called cognitive behavioural therapy or CBT seems to amplify patients’ quality of life, even when the volume of the noise remains the same.

“It’s a way of working on beliefs and changing psychological responses to tinnitus,” said lead reviewer Pablo Martinez-Devesa. “usually you’d assess the patients to change the attitudes of patients toward the tinnitus, then introduce education on the possible causes, then, though several sessions, you would try to change the attitudes of patients towards the tinnitus.’

The review of six small randomized controlled trials gathered data on 285 patients.

The vast majority of people with the condition do not seek treatment but cope with the noise inside their head on their own.

But between 0.5 percent and 3 percent of adults with tinnitus have a chronic condition severe enough to impinge on their life. Among these sufferers, sleep disturbances, anxiety and depression are common.

After participating in CBT, tinnitus suffers reported greater overall satisfaction with their life, compared to a similar group of patients who did not receive CBT treatment, the Cochrane review found.

Tinnitus researcher Robert Folmer said how people react or deal with the perception of sound is what separates a sufferer from someone who is little bothered by tinnitus. Folmer, an associate Professor of Otolaryngology at Oregon Health and Science University, was not on the Cochrane review team.

Cognitive behavioural therapy, which helps people with life and coping skills, is widely available throughout the United States, but Folmer suspects that few American practitioners are using CBT to treat tinnitus.

“We refer a lot of people for psychological counselling, including CBT, but the problem is we never know what they are going to get when they go there.” Folmer said. “When I say CBT that means something different to everyone . There's a wide range of what that could be.”

Martinez-Devesa says standard cognitive behavioural therapy would include patient education about the condition. But Folmer said that even without specific knowledge about tinnitus, a CBT provider can still be helpful.

“Even though a therapist doesn’t know anything about tinnitus, if they help the patient with co-symptoms, our studies have shown that the severity of tinnitus goes down, if these other factors improve.” he said.

Often, doctors are at a loss for ways to effectively treat chronic tinnitus. In those cases, helping someone with related conditions like anxiety or sleeping problems becomes the best solution, Folmer said.

Martinez-Devesa P, al. Cognitive behavioural therapy to tinnitus Review. Cochran Database of Systematic Review 2007, Issues 1. Ear, Nose & Throat News (Health Behaviour News)

This article has been taken from Tinnitus Talk March 2007 edition.