Recent developments in science and technology have allowed for extensive tinnitus research efforts among experts and scientists. Tinnitus however is not given much priority by most researchers mainly because it is generally a non life threatening condition. Despite that, progress in the field of tinnitus research is very welcome news especially to individuals who have been living their daily lives with this bothersome condition. As of recently, tinnitus research has been geared towards finding where and how tinnitus starts in order to come up with something to cure tinnitus.

            Tinnitus research involving the identification of the cause of tinnitus have come up with methods such as the use of imaging techniques to demonstrate activity in the brains of individuals who are capable of modifying sounds produced by their tinnitus- a process known as somatic modulation. Scientists foresee that the next step of this undertaking would be for them to be able to stimulate specific areas in the brain to see whether they can reduce an individual’s perception of tinnitus. Scientists working on this particular tinnitus research project hope to be able to use the techniques in understanding tinnitus’ nature and eventually developing new treatments.

            A lot the tinnitus research efforts have also gone into coming up with medications and drugs capable of suppressing the symptoms of tinnitus. So far, medications like anti-depressants have been proposed to be capable of relieving tinnitus but research has found that these drugs are not truly effective. Several drugs are undergoing clinical trials but further research is needed before these drugs can be established as a standard treatment for tinnitus.

            Current tinnitus research also recognizes the efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT) as means of reducing the effects of tinnitus on a patient’s day to day life. Research has shown that tinnitus patients undergoing CBT have reported improved quality of life despite tinnitus symptoms remaining the same. Despite CBT being a treatment designed to change a patient’s attitude towards tinnitus and not cure it, recent findings have shown that most of the patients made to undergo CBT have reported greater satisfaction in life.

            Tinnitus research on tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT) has also shown a lot of promise when a recent study reported that 68% of patients showed reduced tinnitus symptoms after treatment with TRT for 18 months. This has led to scientists concluding that TRT is an effective method to deal with tinnitus.

            All these data are just glimpses of the numerous efforts researchers have put through in discovering cures, treatments and causes for tinnitus. Scientists hope that one day, tinnitus research will help them to eventually come up with the best cure for this condition.

TINNITUS RESEARCH