Tinnitus and brain research

At YouClaim, we are often contacted by people suffering from industrial deafness and related hearing conditions, such as tinnitus, which have been caused by exposure to very loud noises in the workplace. While we can help them to get personal injury compensation for the discomfort and difficulty their hearing disorder causes day-to-day, most will have to live with the effects of workplace negligence for the rest of their life.

While tinnitus may come and go for some, it is constant for others and can be a particularly frustrating condition. Around half of those who suffer from it find that their sleep is affected, which in turn can cause fatigue that both impacts their ability to work and the quality of their home life.

Tinnitus and the brain
A cure for tinnitus would transform thousands, even millions, of lives throughout the world and it is with this aim that scientists in a US university have been studying the brain signals of a group of rats. Now the recipients of a $2.9million grant, the researchers have an excellent opportunity to discover a treatment that will make so much difference to so many.

Previous research by the group has already made huge leaps forward in the understanding of the condition. Contradicting many years of belief that the noises heard by tinnitus sufferers originate in the ear, these researchers have shown that it is in fact the brain that is causing the problem.

The principal investigator explained: "By using positron emission tomography [PET scanning] to view the brain activity of people with tinnitus, we've been able to show that these phantom auditory sensations originated somewhere in brain, not in the ear."

A damaged ear will only produce weak neural signals, which are received by the auditory centre. However, the crucial discovery came when they found that the auditory centre attempts to "turn up the volume" in order to hear what in fact cannot be heard. The resulting noises take the form of the buzzing and ringing which are so typical of tinnitus.

The researchers are planning to use their million dollar grant to study these signals more closely with the hope of finding some way of silencing them and granting tinnitus sufferers some blessed peace and quiet.

Claiming tinnitus compensation
If you suffer from tinnitus as a result of your work environment, we may well be able to help you make a personal injury compensation claim.

Our panel of compensation solicitors includes experts who specialise in industrial deafness and tinnitus claims and as a result, they have an excellent claim success rate.

We are committed to making claiming compensation as straightforward as possible for you and as such, we have dispensed with the legal jargon and use only plain English when discussing your claim with you.

Our solicitors work on a no win, no fee basis and ensure that you are protected from costs and fees at all times. No matter what the outcome of your claim, you will never have to pay a penny that is the YouClaim promise.

To have a no obligation tinnitus claim assessment, get in touch with us today. Phone 0800 10 757 95 or request a call back from one of our friendly advisors, or alternatively you can chat to us via e-chat.