Tinnitus researchers at the Bionics Institute published findings of an important study in the Journal of Neural Engineering in August 2024 that has a twofold impact.
Firstly, it provides definitive evidence that the tinnitus diagnostic tool developed by our researchers can detect changes in tinnitus severity or presence in the same person, which means the technique can be used to determine the effectiveness of potential treatments.
Secondly, it provides a better understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying the suppression of tinnitus with cochlear implant use.
Lead tinnitus researcher, Dr Mehrnaz Shoushtarian says that use of cochlear implants is known to improve the perception of tinnitus (hearing sounds that are not present externally), although it can have the opposite effect in some cases.
In this study, researchers investigated whether changes in brain networks with a cochlear implant turned on and off were associated with tinnitus perception, as rated subjectively by 14 participants.
Dr Shoushtarian said: “The findings showed that we can objectively measure changes in tinnitus perception in an individual, which will be critical for monitoring treatment effectiveness in our upcoming clinical trials of emerging treatments in collaboration with clinician researchers.”
Bionics Institute Chief Technology Officer, Professor James Fallon said: “These findings could also pave the way for effective use of cochlear implants, or other less invasive techniques, as a treatment for tinnitus.”
You can access the publication and read more about our tinnitus research, which uses a non-invasive neuroimaging technique called fNIRS (functional near-infrared spectroscopy) to detect the presence and severity of tinnitus here.
The findings showed that we can objectively measure changes in tinnitus perception in an individual, which will be critical for monitoring treatment effectiveness in our upcoming clinical trials of emerging treatments in collaboration with clinician researchers. Dr Mehrnaz Shoushtarian
