The University of Iowa – The latest research suggests treating the Phantom ringing ears supposed to be caused due to a medical condition Tinnitus may not be possible. A person affected by this problem feels that something is constantly ringing in his ears.
According to the researchers, this condition does not exist and may be caused due to several factors arising from diseases and injuries.
Published in the magazine, ‘Current Biology’, the research was conducted by a team at the University of Iowa. The research was conducted using a brain mapping technique to monitor the patient’s brain. This technique is usually used for treating epilepsy. However, the team of Iowa this time decided to try it for studying the effects on the brain when the symptoms of tinnitus occur.
The team recorded both weak and strong occurrences in the brain during the ringing. According to Silver Link, the patients were exposed to the duplicated ringing sounds to measure how exactly the brain operated. During the research, the researchers discovered that the brain activities covered the large brain sections when the actual tinnitus symptoms occurred.
Contrarily, when the brain was exposed to mimicked sound, only a very small brain area responded. The researchers believe that the brain perceives that a ringing sound is being used to fill the sounds that were missing after the hearing damage in such a case. But in reality such type of ringing sound is non-existent. It means Tinnitus is just an impression about a sound that feels like ringing but actually is not there.
Discovery Makes Tinnitus Treatment Difficult
The study is highly important in context with the fate of treatment of Tinnitus. Since the symptoms span a large area across the brain, it is difficult to determine a particular medicine to treat the indications. That is why doctors have been using neuro feedback as a treatment measure to control the brainwaves in patients caused due to industrial ringing, but now with much success.
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