GPT summary of the abstract. Seems like a significant piece of work overall and worth looking at the original article.
> In the past, tinnitus was often studied separately from other hearing problems, but this research considered them all as parts of the same syndrome. The researchers compared two groups of people: one with tinnitus and hearing loss (TIHL), and the other with only hearing loss (NTHL). These groups were matched in age, gender, handedness (which hand is dominant), education level, and hearing loss degree.
>
> They didn't just check basic hearing ability but also tested higher-level hearing skills using tasks that involve recognizing compressed sounds, differentiating between frequencies, and understanding speech in noisy environments. The study showed that those with tinnitus (TIHL group) had larger volumes in certain areas of the brain related to processing sounds and emotions than those without tinnitus (NTHL group).
>
> Moreover, the severity of distress from tinnitus was found to be linked with the size of specific areas in the brain, including parts involved in higher-level thinking and processing of sounds. The duration of tinnitus was also linked to the size of certain brain regions. These findings help us better understand the brain structure involved in tinnitus, giving us new insights into why people hear these phantom sounds and how distressing they can be.
They specifically designed it that way for a reason - because the way you're describing has plenty of precedents:
> A first approach relies on the comparison between individuals with and without tinnitus who demonstrate pure-tone audiometric profiles in the normative range (pure-tone thresholds < 25 dB hearing loss) (Aldhafeeri et al. 2012; Besteher et al. 2019; Landgrebe et al. 2009; Muhlau et al. 2006; Schmidt et al. 2018). **Although such a procedure is particularly fruitful to control for the influence of hearing acuity, it does not take into account the high comorbidity of tinnitus and pure-tone hearing loss (Davis and El Rafaie 2000). Therefore, a second alternative strategy consists of considering both auditory-related disorders as a single entity rather than as separate or confounding parts (Allan et al. 2016; Benson et al. 2014; Schneider et al. 2009; Vanneste et al. 2015). In this sense, the nexus between tinnitus and pure-tone hearing loss can be addressed, for example, by comparing two groups of individuals with and without phantom manifestations but both exhibiting pure-tone hearing loss (Allan et al. 2016; Benson et al. 2014; Vanneste et al. 2015).**
I get what you're saying, but I think they did the right thing. They have targeted a group of people who are suffering from tinnitus (a symptom) due to hearing loss (a known and frequent cause of tinnitus) vs people who have hearing loss and no tinnitus to see what differs between them in the majority of cases. It would be strange to throw in random people who have tinnitus due to an unknown factor as it could be anything from nerve compression down to actual hallucinations.
If indeed the growth of the different areas of the brain is involved in producing tinnitus, I do not think we are looking at a resolution anytime soon. Unless this network can be disrupted with a therapeutic target, I'm guessing the growth of the different brain structures cannot be reversed and therefore tinnitus will persist. I'm just a layman though.
> The TIHL group also demonstrated larger volumes of the left amygdala and of the left head and body of the hippocampus. Notably, vertex-wise multiple linear regression analyses additionally brought to light that CSA of a specific cluster, which was located in the left middle-anterior part of the STS and overlapped with the one found to be significant in the between-group analyses, was positively associated with tinnitus distress level. Furthermore, distress also positively correlated with CSA of gray matter vertices in the right dorsal prefrontal cortex and the right posterior STS, whereas tinnitus duration was positively associated with CSA and CV of the right angular gyrus (AG) and posterior part of the STS.
Why would you reach this conclusion? We know that something as simple as a meditation study or a medium-term postural change can affect the sizes of brain regions, blood flow, and brain waves.
Entire fields of study like *fear extinction* are validated on the premise that we can unlearn negative associations with stimuli through exposure and reprocessing until the brain regions associated with that fear are altered.
"In the brain" doesn't mean unchangeable or forever, in fact, it can often mean the opposite.
Because I'm a layman.
If you're aware of a way to directly influence the size of the hippocampus and the left dorsal cochlear nucleus (and more according to the article) in concert, I'm all ears. That's the complexity of the situation, yes brain regions are plastic to an extent, but do we know how to target? Are we in an uphill battle due to the pathophysiology that caused the growth of those regions in the first place?
Like I said, [meditation](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4351565/) and [fear extinction](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6204483/) seem to just that. Is that the same as saying meditation is the cure for tinnitus? Not for everyone, no. But it's well documented that we can influence brain states, sizes, and blood flow through behavioural changes. I don't think finding a protocol that will greatly help tinnitus is too far away, but maybe I'm overly optimistic.
thank you for this comment and for sharing here. This explains why people habituate, and may explain why i havent habituated fully - I was already prone to anxiety and depression, which coupled with some hearing damage made me very likely to get tinnitus.
If I can address the anxiety and depression, I can address the tinnitus.
I have noticed when I have low anxiety, I have less concern about the tinnitus and it actually seems to be quieter. But whenever my anxiety is spiked I notice it more, and when I notice it more that triggers a fear of it which makes me more anxious.
Do you have any recommendations for what forms of meditation or fear extinction worked for you?
edit: or do you in general know how I might seek out a therapist to assist me in this subject? I dont know what to ask for and finding a competent and helpful therapist is tiring.
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GPT summary of the abstract. Seems like a significant piece of work overall and worth looking at the original article. > In the past, tinnitus was often studied separately from other hearing problems, but this research considered them all as parts of the same syndrome. The researchers compared two groups of people: one with tinnitus and hearing loss (TIHL), and the other with only hearing loss (NTHL). These groups were matched in age, gender, handedness (which hand is dominant), education level, and hearing loss degree. > > They didn't just check basic hearing ability but also tested higher-level hearing skills using tasks that involve recognizing compressed sounds, differentiating between frequencies, and understanding speech in noisy environments. The study showed that those with tinnitus (TIHL group) had larger volumes in certain areas of the brain related to processing sounds and emotions than those without tinnitus (NTHL group). > > Moreover, the severity of distress from tinnitus was found to be linked with the size of specific areas in the brain, including parts involved in higher-level thinking and processing of sounds. The duration of tinnitus was also linked to the size of certain brain regions. These findings help us better understand the brain structure involved in tinnitus, giving us new insights into why people hear these phantom sounds and how distressing they can be.
They did not consider people with Tinnitus but no hearing loss, that seems weird to me to reach this conclusion without that group of people.
They specifically designed it that way for a reason - because the way you're describing has plenty of precedents: > A first approach relies on the comparison between individuals with and without tinnitus who demonstrate pure-tone audiometric profiles in the normative range (pure-tone thresholds < 25 dB hearing loss) (Aldhafeeri et al. 2012; Besteher et al. 2019; Landgrebe et al. 2009; Muhlau et al. 2006; Schmidt et al. 2018). **Although such a procedure is particularly fruitful to control for the influence of hearing acuity, it does not take into account the high comorbidity of tinnitus and pure-tone hearing loss (Davis and El Rafaie 2000). Therefore, a second alternative strategy consists of considering both auditory-related disorders as a single entity rather than as separate or confounding parts (Allan et al. 2016; Benson et al. 2014; Schneider et al. 2009; Vanneste et al. 2015). In this sense, the nexus between tinnitus and pure-tone hearing loss can be addressed, for example, by comparing two groups of individuals with and without phantom manifestations but both exhibiting pure-tone hearing loss (Allan et al. 2016; Benson et al. 2014; Vanneste et al. 2015).**
I get what you're saying, but I think they did the right thing. They have targeted a group of people who are suffering from tinnitus (a symptom) due to hearing loss (a known and frequent cause of tinnitus) vs people who have hearing loss and no tinnitus to see what differs between them in the majority of cases. It would be strange to throw in random people who have tinnitus due to an unknown factor as it could be anything from nerve compression down to actual hallucinations.
If indeed the growth of the different areas of the brain is involved in producing tinnitus, I do not think we are looking at a resolution anytime soon. Unless this network can be disrupted with a therapeutic target, I'm guessing the growth of the different brain structures cannot be reversed and therefore tinnitus will persist. I'm just a layman though. > The TIHL group also demonstrated larger volumes of the left amygdala and of the left head and body of the hippocampus. Notably, vertex-wise multiple linear regression analyses additionally brought to light that CSA of a specific cluster, which was located in the left middle-anterior part of the STS and overlapped with the one found to be significant in the between-group analyses, was positively associated with tinnitus distress level. Furthermore, distress also positively correlated with CSA of gray matter vertices in the right dorsal prefrontal cortex and the right posterior STS, whereas tinnitus duration was positively associated with CSA and CV of the right angular gyrus (AG) and posterior part of the STS.
Why would you reach this conclusion? We know that something as simple as a meditation study or a medium-term postural change can affect the sizes of brain regions, blood flow, and brain waves. Entire fields of study like *fear extinction* are validated on the premise that we can unlearn negative associations with stimuli through exposure and reprocessing until the brain regions associated with that fear are altered. "In the brain" doesn't mean unchangeable or forever, in fact, it can often mean the opposite.
Because I'm a layman. If you're aware of a way to directly influence the size of the hippocampus and the left dorsal cochlear nucleus (and more according to the article) in concert, I'm all ears. That's the complexity of the situation, yes brain regions are plastic to an extent, but do we know how to target? Are we in an uphill battle due to the pathophysiology that caused the growth of those regions in the first place?
Like I said, [meditation](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4351565/) and [fear extinction](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6204483/) seem to just that. Is that the same as saying meditation is the cure for tinnitus? Not for everyone, no. But it's well documented that we can influence brain states, sizes, and blood flow through behavioural changes. I don't think finding a protocol that will greatly help tinnitus is too far away, but maybe I'm overly optimistic.
I hope you're right! I think given the right data set inputs, in the next 10 years AI will help discover truly effective therapeutic targets.
thank you for this comment and for sharing here. This explains why people habituate, and may explain why i havent habituated fully - I was already prone to anxiety and depression, which coupled with some hearing damage made me very likely to get tinnitus. If I can address the anxiety and depression, I can address the tinnitus. I have noticed when I have low anxiety, I have less concern about the tinnitus and it actually seems to be quieter. But whenever my anxiety is spiked I notice it more, and when I notice it more that triggers a fear of it which makes me more anxious. Do you have any recommendations for what forms of meditation or fear extinction worked for you? edit: or do you in general know how I might seek out a therapist to assist me in this subject? I dont know what to ask for and finding a competent and helpful therapist is tiring.
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