Your current location:HOME >sport >The headphones that could ease tinnitus with a radical new treatment 正文
TIME:2024-05-21 18:58:32 Source: Internet compilationEdit:sport
Headphones that swap sounds from one ear to the other could be a radical new treatment for tinnitus
Headphones that swap sounds from one ear to the other could be a radical new treatment for tinnitus — the ringing noise in the ears that affects around five million people in the UK.
When a noise comes from the wearer's right-hand side, it is picked up by a microphone in the headphones and re-routed to the left ear. The opposite happens with sounds emanating from the left.
Scientists think jumbling the direction of sound, with the eyes telling the brain it's coming from one place but the ears telling it the opposite, helps to 'rewire' the auditory nerve (which connects the ear to the brain). And this 'turns down' the tinnitus.
The idea for headphones treatment came from mirror therapy, which is used for phantom limb pain (Stock Image)
Results published in the Journal of the American Academy of Audiology in 2022 showed 18 volunteers experienced significant improvements in their symptoms (stock photo)
The results of a small trial suggest that using the headsets for two hours a day for three weeks significantly reduces tinnitus. Many people suffer temporary tinnitus, but for around one in 100, the ringing is long term and is often combined with hearing loss.
READ MORE: Have scientists cracked cancer mystery in young people? Experts think they've pinpointed bodily changes that are driving skyrocketing cancer rates in under 50sWhen the ears are exposed to loud noise or infections, tiny hair cells that transmit sounds to the brain become stressed and emit excess quantities of a chemical called glutamate. This 'glutamate storm' over-stimulates — and eventually kills — nerve cells in the inner ear, which send sound impulses to the auditory cortex, the part of the brain that processes noise.
T his leaves cells in the auditory cortex switched on so they constantly relay sound to the brain, causing people to 'hear' ringing, for instance. In some, the cells remain in this 'switched on' state.
By this point, it is more difficult to treat. There are no drugs for it, and treatments include talking therapy, which helps patients live with the condition, or sound therapy, where background noise is used to distract them.
The idea for headphones treatment came from mirror therapy, which is used for phantom limb pain — where amputees still feel pain from the removed limb. By 'hiding' their affected limb behind a mirror which reflects the healthy limb, and focusing on this reflection, the brain is 'tricked' into thinking both limbs are intact. Studies suggest this leads to rewiring in the brain that reduces the perception of pain.
Scientists at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Massachusetts in the U.S., who developed the prototype headphones, think they work in a similar way, 'rewiring' connections between nerve cells so they no longer register tinnitus as a real external sound.
Results published in the Journal of the American Academy of Audiology in 2022 showed 18 volunteers experienced significant improvements in their symptoms. Now a trial is under way with 50 patients who will wear the headphones for three hours a day for three weeks, or a regular pair that play noise into the ear closest to the noise source. The results are expected later this year.
Commenting on the treatment, Dr Will Sedley, a lecturer in neurology at Newcastle University, said: 'It's a neat idea, but we need the results of the trial before we can say it works. In the meantime, the one thing we know does work well for many people is talking therapy.'
Supreme Court declines to hear challenge to Maryland ban on rifles known as assault weapons2024-05-21 18:50
Steve Buscemi punched in the face in "random" attack in NYC2024-05-21 18:49
Nevada Supreme Court rejects teachers union2024-05-21 18:28
Ben Roethlisberger named in Donald Trump hush2024-05-21 18:24
Bella Hadid goes braless in a thigh2024-05-21 18:17
Brewers' Rhys Hoskins leaves game with injury after hitting a second2024-05-21 17:57
Cannes kicks off with Greta Gerwig's jury and a Palme d'Or for Meryl Streep2024-05-21 17:53
Guardiola warns Man City will lose the Premier League title if it fails to win at Tottenham2024-05-21 17:20
Hollywood star Shia LaBeouf is spotted on the streets of Gavin and Stacey's hometown Barry2024-05-21 16:28
Mae Whitman reunites with Parenthood co2024-05-21 16:28
Cruise worker 'murders newborn son on board ship': Shocked co2024-05-21 18:31
Hong Kong calls for respect of its overseas2024-05-21 18:29
Red Sox great David Ortiz, who frustrated Yankees, honored by New York Senate2024-05-21 18:15
Displaced Lebanese seek alternative livelihood amidst prolonged border tension2024-05-21 17:30
Kate Hudson hits the stage to debut songs from her new album Glorious at star2024-05-21 17:27
Chris Pratt spends Mother's Day with wife Katherine Schwarzenegger and mother2024-05-21 17:20
Former Mormon lifts the lid on how the cult2024-05-21 16:59
Kylie Jenner wows in curve2024-05-21 16:30
French sports minister calls for sanctions after Monaco player tapes over anti2024-05-21 16:22
Ben Roethlisberger named in Donald Trump hush2024-05-21 16:15