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A new study being carried out in the US hopes to reveal a new style of therapy that could improve the lives of many tinnitus sufferers who have noise induced hearing loss.
Mark Mennemeier, Ph.D., and John Dornhoffer, M.D., are conducting research at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and initial case study results look very promising.
The study aims to prove the safety and feasibility of using low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to reduce tinnitus loudness and to prevent its return over time.
TMS therapy uses a coil placed on the scalp to create a magnetic field over the surface of the brain. This field penetrates up to two or three centimeters and an electric current is induced by the magnetic field to either activate or inhibit neural activity.
The treatment had previously shown short-term results in Europe, but the UAMS research is the first to trial it as a maintenance therapy in which patients receive an initial course followed by further sessions as symptoms persist.
UAMS's patient has demonstrated the feasibility of using TMS maintenance therapy as a way of managing chronic tinnitus. The patient reported no side effects and none were detected after three sessions of the therapy.
Mennemeier said, "The patient in our case study reported his tinnitus to be unobtrusive in his daily life when he was assessed four months after his final round of maintenance therapy,"
