Tinnitus suppression therapy
Abstract
It has long been suspected that an important relationship exists between inner and outer hair cells, and that a disturbance of this relationship could lead to the phenomenon of tinnitus. The electromodel of the auditory system describes one mechanism of this inter-hair cell relationship. Following this model a mechanism exists, driven by mechanosensitive outer hair cells, that operates close to and below threshold level, and prevents tinnitus by suppressing electrosensitive inner hair cells. In tinnitus sufferers, this natural and inherent suppression mechanism is suspected to be defective. It is argued that remaining functional outer hair cells have been recruited with sound stimuli, and that these sound stimuli would possibly be effective just below threshold level, as this is the level where outer hair cells may reduce inner hair cell activity. Understanding these physiological events at the receptor level should then translate into better management of tinnitus patients as we propose in Tinnitus Suppression Therapy (TST).
International Tinnitus Journal – ITJ, go to http://www.tinnitusjournal.com/
