Ringing ears: the neuroscience of tinnitus

Abstract

Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) is a prevalent and often debilitating disorder with approximately 10% of people (incorporating ages from children to the elderly) perceiving it continuously, and in 1-3% of the population it seriously affects the quality of life. The most common cause of tinnitus is hearing loss, and its prevalence has surged as a result from the various large-scale military actions in the Middle East in the last decade. Recent advances have been made in the area of behavioral animal models, in the understanding of human brain imaging aspects of tinnitus, and in addressing the long-range changes in human brain connectivity. Furthermore continued exploration of the three major animal models of tinnitus: salicylate-induced, noise trauma induced, and resulting from somatic interactions with the auditory system has further delineated the relative roles of cochlear activity vs. central auditory system changes. Evidence for the role of neural synchrony changes in tinnitus originates both from human EEG and MEG studies as well as from neuron pair-correlation studies in animals. Human brain imaging of tinnitus; structural as well as functional. Tinnitus and the human EEG and MEG. Psychoacoustic evaluation (listening to tinnitus). Evaluation of hearing loss and its role in tinnitus. Interaction between hyperacusis and tinnitus. Tinnitus and stress. Animal behavioral models (and their interrelation with electrophysiology etc.). Imaging in animals. Electrophysiology and pharmacology. Molecular aspects. Role of the auditory periphery vs. the central auditory system in causing and maintaining tinnitus. Modeling of tinnitus mechanisms.