High-tech headphones that can completely silence tinnitus –

When 19-year-old Harry Goad went to see his family doctor last October, he hoped it might be a simple case of prescription or reassurance. He had made the appointment after experiencing constant ringing in his left ear for a week.

“I was worried about the ringing and hissing in my ear,” says 20-year-old Harry, a retail assistant in Maidstone, Kent.

‘My doctor examined my ears and found no problems with the ear canal or eardrum.

“Then he said it was probably tinnitus, which I didn’t know much about. Then he said you might never go and there wasn’t much you could do about it. “I was quite surprised that this voice in my ear could be with me forever.”

Characterized by a sound that has no external source, often described as a ringing, buzzing, hissing, buzzing or whistling sound, tinnitus is often a symptom of or may be the result of an underlying condition such as a viral infection. an injury such as a whiplash.

The most common cause is hearing loss – although tinnitus can occur at any age, it is more common in people 50 and older.

Duncan Collet-Fenson, an audiologist at Aston Hearing in Bucks, Amersham, suggests that while it’s generally considered a problem with the ear, it should be considered something that is activated in the brain.

“This is a brain problem associated with hearing loss, which leads to poor communication between the brain and the inner ear.”

One theory is that the brain “invents itself” in the absence of real sound.

Tinnitus may also be associated with spontaneous activation of inner hair cells. [called cilia]creating an immeasurable sound, so we don’t know if it’s really there,” says Collet-Fenson.

Stress and sleep deprivation can play a role.

“Tinnitus itself is very stressful,” explains Mr. Collet-Fenson. “Anxiety makes things worse and is thought to be related to the limbic system.” This is the part of our brain that deals with emotions.

In some cases, hearing aids can help by introducing ambient sounds.

Another approach is “masking” techniques, such as listening to white noise for distraction. Over time, this can help the brain filter tinnitus so those who suffer from it are not aware of it.

But there is hope that a new non-invasive brain stimulation technique will soon provide a kind of “cure” for tinnitus.

This is currently being tested in a three-year study funded by the Royal National Institute for the Deaf. This study builds on a smaller previous study that found that the treatment “disabled” tinnitus in some people for several hours or even days.

The technique, known as high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS), involves stimulating specific areas of the brain through five small electrodes placed in specific areas of the head. These include the auditory cortex, where sound is processed, and the prefrontal cortex, where our emotions are processed.

The most common cause is hearing loss – although tinnitus can occur at any age, it is more common in people 50 and older.

As Professor Raj Shekhawat, a clinical audiologist who led the study, explained, “One theory is that the tinnitus is the result of an error message.”

The idea is to “shake” the network in the brain involved in tinnitus perception, disrupting the cause of the tinnitus. “My past work shows that brain stimulation eliminates tinnitus for some people for a few hours or a few days and reduces their perception in others. That’s why we know it might work for some people, and we want to know why some respond better than others.

In the study, 70 participants will either receive six 20-minute treatment sessions twice a week over a three-week period, or receive “fake” alerts. All will also undergo an EEG (a recording of brain activity) along with other hearing-related checks.

“What we’re trying to find in the new study is how we can prolong this temporary effect on tinnitus,” said Professor Shekhawat, now at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia (who started experimenting while at university). ). . College London).

“Imagine what it would be like to suppress it for two days, two months, or two years. “Maybe in the future we can develop a therapy where people do brain stimulation sessions every few months to reduce tinnitus,” he says.

While this type of treatment will help some, if not all patients, it would make a huge difference. One day, they can use a special headband to do brain stimulation at home and go about their lives undisturbed for a while. It would be awesome.’

So far there is no evidence of any side effects other than mild tingling, itching and sometimes a feeling of warmth.

The trial has been welcomed by doctors such as Matthew Trotter, consultant surgeon for ear, nose and throat (ENT) at Coventry University Hospitals and Warwickshire NHS Trust.

“I think this is a fascinating approach that has tremendous potential, especially for people with tinnitus where the conventional treatments we currently offer (mostly distraction therapies) have had little effect.

“There is a small but significant group of people who have tinnitus but not hearing loss, which is much more difficult to treat. This is the group that a more experimental therapy like this could help one day before it becomes much more common.”

Meanwhile, Harry had surgery to treat his tinnitus. He has no idea what’s causing this. While loud music is a common cause among some teens, Harry says he’s never heard his “too loud” music through headphones. He also only went to one concert and twice to a nightclub.

After being diagnosed, Harry tried to use the sound of waterfalls or chirping sounds from his bedroom speaker to mask his tinnitus, after reading it on the British Tinnitus Association website. He said it helped him sleep a little better, he said.

“But the longer the tinnitus lasted, the more worried I was because there was no ‘off’ button,” says Harry. “I turned 20 a month after my diagnosis, so I felt like I could live with that for decades, which is a lot to accept.”

Earlier this year, Harry paid privately to see an otolaryngologist, who suggested that his very large adenoids (bundles of tissue in his throat that are part of the immune system) could press on the Eustachian tube that connects the middle ear to the ear. . nose behind the ear causes tinnitus.

In February, Harry had both adenoids removed during a 45-minute procedure under general anesthesia. Although the tinnitus improved somewhat in the weeks after the surgery and was not as severe as when it started, it did not go away.

“Even if I could deal with it better now, I don’t think it would go away completely,” she says. “But now I take precautions, for example I have a pair of silicone earplugs and wear them whenever I go to a noisy place like a noisy bar. I am very careful not to make things worse.

under the microscope

Journalist and presenter Mariella Frostrup, 59, takes our health test

Can you run up the stairs?

Yes, but I feel like I’m doing everything at one speed. I’m one of those pesky people who sniff and sniff at anyone closing the lane on the subway escalator. I do Pilates on Mondays and Fridays, and I’ve recently rediscovered yoga: it’s one of the few things that makes me feel better right away. And I try to run a little.

Do you take five a day?

Probably – I like all kinds of vegetables. One of my favorite things is to go on a date with my coffee in the morning.

Have you ever dieted?

It doesn’t take long, but once a year I do this incredible reboot at a place called Yeotown in Devon – stick to a diet and cut back on caffeine, alcohol, meat and grains for five days. In my 20s and 30s, my weight fluctuated depending on whether I was happy or unhappy – I would go between a size 8 and a size 12, but it stabilized in my early 40s as I had kids. I’m 5 feet 5½ inches and I think 8 7lbs.

Any flaws?

Sometimes I like a sneaky bowl of cereal at night – I’m pretty greedy and always eat a second serving.

Any family ailments?

My father died of a heart attack at the age of 44, and I learned about ten years ago that I have coronary artery disease. I am taking medicines that I inject twice a year and that are newer on the NHS but that save my life because the statin pills are not working for me. It really affected my cholesterol. Unfortunately, the mother has dementia: she is now at home in its final stages. My grandma had it too.

take the pills?

Terms of Service

Have you ever had plastic surgery?

I do not think so. I am a coward and the idea of ​​pain repels me, but at the same time, I have fought many battles in my life and I tend to choose the one I have a chance to win, and getting old will not be one of them!

Is sex important?

Yes, that’s what separates a long-term relationship from a friendship.

Have you tried alternative medicines?

Sometimes I take vitamins for my hair, nails and skin – my hair has definitely thinned a bit as I hit perimenopause and my nails are terrible in the winter. I also take a Vitamin D spray and Berocca twice a week to give me some energy. [radio] to show.

What keeps you up at night?

Menopause is the enemy of my sleep: I still have nights where I wake up anxious, with every thought running through my head.

Do you have a phobia?

I’m pretty rodent-phobic – I don’t like their tails.

Cracked Menopause: While Keeping It Together, by Mariella Frostrup and Alice Smellie (Bluebird, £9.99).