US researcher believes zebrafish hold the secret to a cure for tinnitus

An audiologist and cell biologist from the US is attempting to find a cure for tinnitus by studying a fish. The zebrafish, to be exact.

Ernest Moore first suffered the effects of tinnitus as a child after hunting with rifles on his grandfather's Tennessee farm. Later, he suffered further damage to his hearing as a result of serving in the US Army reserves medical corps. Now, Moore is researching a cure at the Northwestern University in Illinois.

There are some interesting statistics coming from the US. Half of the soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, who were exposed to explosive devices, now suffer from tinnitus.

In 2006, nearly 400,000 troops collected disability payments for service-related tinnitus, costing the US government $539 million. According to the American Tinnitus Association this figure could reach $1 billion by 2011 as the number of claimants is rising by 20% per year.

Add to this the fact that 12 million American civilians have sought medical help after suffering with tinnitus and you would presume the US government would spend a respectable sum on tinnitus research. However, a mere $3 million has been allotted for public and private research.

Moore says, "Ears don't bleed from tinnitus, it's a hidden problem. It's not obvious and dramatic like a heart attack or cancer although it torments its sufferers."

Obtaining research grant funding has proved problematic for Moore and he says it has been even harder to gain respect for tinnitus.

Tinnitus research has been carried out previously on rats and mice, but Moore has pioneered approach by working with zebrafish. The zebrafish has two ears that are incredibly similar to those of humans.

Electrical activity allows the fish to hear and Moore has been able to cause tinnitus-like effects in the ears of the fish by exposing them to certain drugs. He uses video to track the erratic swimming of the zebrafish and looks at neuronal activity involving hearing.

Moore studies the electrical firing in the fishes' ears. Increased firing is an early sign of tinnitus.

Once Moore has established increased firing, he then attempts to block the effect using drugs which he hopes will return the cells to normal. Early findings show that the drugs being tested do slow down the increased electrical firing.

Moore says, "If these drugs are found to be safe - and some are already on the market for other uses - and if they are found to have efficacy in humans, then they might be used to treat an individual's tinnitus. "If the hair cell is not totally damaged - just beginning to break down, and you administer these drugs, you might be able to prevent it from further damage and interfere with the cells' ability to generate tinnitus."

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