Hi all, as a fellow sufferer of this frustrating condition, just wondered if the worldwide T community should approach the greatest minds on Earth with a view to them coming up with a cure? They did for Covid helluva quick.
people’s thoughts? because there seems to some extent to be a culture of negativity towards research and a possible cure. Where and when will the solution come from? Sure it’s not simplistic but scientifically/medically achievable if properly resourced?
Not to make light of the problem, Mac-beats, but tinnitus isn't a pandemic - there's a basic gulf in the perceived seriousness of the two issues for medical authorities and governments alike. Nobody's dying directly from tinnitus itself - people are dying from contracting COVID-19.
As I understand it, there's a viral core which is responsible for COVID, SARS CoV-2, which offers something tangible for researchers to examine, understand and to combat. We can't yet point to a tinnitus gene and say - "that's the reason for ringing in the ears, so that's what we should be fixing".
That's not to say that such a foundation can't be found, but until there is a joined-up understanding of what causes tinnitus, how it can be combatted or prevented and why it affects people so differently, the journey to a cure isn't quite so straightforward as we might hope it is.
Hi Pat, thanks for your considered reply which makes totally sense. Hopefully we’ll have something to vest our hopes upon in the not too distant future as this condition can be stressful and frustrating at best of times.
Hi BTAPat,I agree when you say tinnitus isn’t directly killing anybody . However the enormous mentally disturbing impact on most of us is, that tinnitus is really creating havoc with our nervous systems .
I do agree with you . It is so frustrating that such a distressing and life changing condition cannot surly be given some extra time and thought towards aiming for some sort of a cure . . We live in hope
Hi Rabbit, as Red said in the Shawshank Redemption, hope is the best of things.Maybe we need someone like Elon Musk on it?
He’s supposedly working on a device to alleviate anxiety, so why not Tinnitus? He’d probably make billions too, which would no doubt appeal.
Elon Musk did have a personal connection to tinnitus in that his ex, the musician Grimes has experienced it for a number of years. So I would imagine that he is only too aware of the condition.
I'm with you. Tinnitus can be like a torture, I wish something could be found to help the millions of sufferers.
Exactly . What a good word. “ torture “. I hope your feeling OK
Scientists from the University of Granada (UGR) in Spain have made a breakthrough discovery relating genes to tinnitus, specifically genes ANK2, TSC2 and AKAP9 in patients with Meniere’s disease (MD). The work opens the way to new drug treatments.
The author underlines that 15% of the population is affected by tinnitus, with severe tinnitus disturbing quality of life in one percent of people. Studies show a significant heritability factor in such cases.
And the study, which appears in the April issue of EbioMedicine (published by The Lancet) reports on the finding of an excess of rare variants in ANK2, TSC2 and AKAP9 genes in Spanish patients with tinnitus extreme phenotype in Meniere disease patients. The results were replicated in a Swedish cohort of individuals with severe tinnitus. These associations, however, were not significant in a third cohort of epilepsy individuals without tinnitus.
Our findings show that the proteins producing these genes would be involved in the reorganisation of the connections between the neurons that cause the noises. The ANK2 gene has been linked to autism, a developmental disorder that also involves sensitivity to noise,” explained the study’s principal author, José Antonio López Escámez, of UGR’s surgical specialties department.
The work forms part of the PhD thesis of Sana Amanat, a predoctoral student on the UGR Biomedicine Programme and the European School for Interdisciplinary Research on Tinnitus. The research has been carried out in cooperation with several centres in Spain, Sweden, the UK, and Luxembourg.
Studying tinnitus linked to different disorders can lead to the identification of molecular mechanisms, early diagnosis, and the application of new drugs for treating tinnitus.
Source: UGR/EBioMedicine.
So far ignored, I wonder why?
One of the authors of the study is Christopher Cederroth, associate professor of hearing sciences at the University of Nottingham, whose work into the identification of tinnitus biomarkers is being financially supported by the British Tinnitus Association: tinnitus.org.uk/blog/large-.... I don't think that this area of research is any way being ignored.
If you have an interest in research news, please keep an eye on our website which reports relevant developments in tinnitus study and innovation - tinnitus.org.uk
The article that you've quoted from does underline the ultimate issue, however - "15% of the population is affected by tinnitus, with severe tinnitus disturbing quality of life in one percent of people".
It's that one percent of the population with tinnitus that the BTA supports. Believe me when I say that I'm only too aware of the scale of the problem.
Hi Pat, Thank you for your response, It is fantastic that the BTA are not ignoring this issue, my point was it is being ignored by the people in power, who have the ability to make their voice heard, unfortunately the sufferer's normally suffer in silence.
If only we could suffer 'in silence' beaverwood 😔
Brilliant answer, lol.
Hi Mac-beats I've been thinking about your question. Here's my thoughts . Firstly I don't know if there can be a single cure for T - as it's a symptom of several different problems . Secondly I don't think the funding will ever be there because - as TinnitusUKPat says - no one dies. It's not only tinnitus. I've got cfs/me . There's no treatment or cure for that either . So frustrating!
I agree there should be more focus on a cure - instead of apps etc to help people ‘cope’ with the ‘torture’. I think scientific effort could be focused on a rigorous analysis of the approach of people like Julian Cowan Hill who have had success with getting tinnitus to back off - based on the theory that our ears have gotten into a heightened state of sensitivity & we’re hearing electrical sounds within our head - in 1953 Heller & Burgmann found that people who were listening out for an expected sound that wasn’t there ramped up their hearing sensitivity until they heard the buzz of their own brain. Also somatic tinnitus related to the jaw etc could do with some more research. Just a thought
There are plenty of people researching a cure for tinnitus. Arizona University is another place. There is a big research being done in Georgia University as well. There is a lot of money to be made from a cure, so there is interest in finding a cure. One professor who spoke on Tinnitus Talk said he's hopeful we will have a cure in the next 10 years. We need to pray one of these researchers finds a breakthrough. 🙏💕
I rather feel that's like asking for a worldwide effort to cure pain, Tinnitus being a symptom rather than a condition in itself. That being said a painkiller type medication that worked for tinnitus would be nice for people where there is no known cause found, or if the cause is known but the damage permanent, likely hand in hand with research to find a cure for deafness, so donations/interest in those kinds of charities is probably money well spent.
I agree Arthur_Dent Hearing loss & T are bound up together (for many people) so a cure for hearing loss would have a big impact on T. It's my deaf ear that gives me all the trouble.
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