U-M Researchers Say New Device Provides Relief From Tinnitus
ANN ARBOR (WWJ) - About one in five people hear noise or ringing in their ears.
It's a condition called tinnitus, and WWJ' Dr. Deanna Lites reports a new treatment may provide relief.
University of Michigan researchers say an external device that uses precisely timed sounds and weak electrical pulses to target unruly nerve activity in the brain can quiet the sounds associated with tinnitus.
In the study participants got either the real device or a fake device to use for 30 minutes a day for a month. The sham treatment didn't provide relief.
As for the real device, researcher Dr. Susan Shore said, "It helped their tinnitus...As a group, it made their tinnitus significantly less loud, and it made their tinnitus significantly less bothersome."
More studies are planned and researchers are looking for participants.
Recruitment for the next clinical trial will begin in early 2018, with the trial expected to start in late summer. Information will be posted on www.clinicaltrials.gov six months before the start of the trial. To learn more about the study now, send an email to tinn.trial@umich.edu.
