We often talk about the lack of research and funding for tinnitus. But what about the quality of research? Do tinnitus sufferers benefit from the research that is conducted? In reality, many studies are conducted improperly, thus giving misleading results and false promises for patients. During this episode, we dive deep into concepts like research design, patient selection, outcome measures, statistical analysis, and everything else required for high-quality studies. We focus on studies that assess tinnitus interventions; in other words, studies that measure the effectiveness of new treatment ..read more

We revisited with an old friend of the podcast: Dr. Josef Rauschecker. He was our first ever guest – go back and listen to that episode! – who came up with the famous 'gating' theory of tinnitus. Josef’s gating theory poses that while neural ‘noise’ may arise in the ear and lower brain regions due to hearing loss, this noise is typically cancelled out further up the auditory pathway. For most people at least, but not for those experiencing tinnitus. We speak to Josef in person at his office in Georgetown University about how his theory has evolved, his views on psychological treatments for tin ..read more

Maybe you heard of sound therapy devices like Neuromonics, Desyncra, and SoundCure? Or more recently, Lenire? Hazel talks to Steve Harrison, a musician and audiophile who has suffered from severe tinnitus for decades. Steve knows all about the use of sound for tinnitus relief. Rather than relying on expensive devices, which typically can only do one thing, Steve recommends experimenting with sound and gives practical tips for doing so. We go through all the different types of sound therapies and treatments and discuss the pros and cons. Check out Steve’s YouTube channel Tinnitus Works and the ..read more

Meet Brian Fargo, a successful video game developer who – when he developed tinnitus – tried every imaginable treatment to get rid of it, to no avail. Frustrated at the lack of effective treatment options, he decided to put his money where his mouth is. He funded the research of Dr. Hamid Djalilian from UC Irvine, who is testing electrical stimulation of the inner ear to alleviate tinnitus. His results so far seem very promising, with some patients even getting rid of their tinnitus completely. This episode is all about one man’s journey to come to terms with his tinnitus and help others by pr ..read more

We hear figures of up to 20-30% of the population supposedly having tinnitus, but is tinnitus really that prevalent? In this episode, we learn that such data is based on population studies where people are asked questions like “have you heard ringing in your ears for more than 5 minutes in the past year?”. That’s not helpful data. When it comes to finding better treatments, we need to zoom in on chronic, severe tinnitus. We talk about the need for bigger and better data for tinnitus with Christopher Cederroth, a researcher who focuses on the genetic underpinnings of tinnitus, and David Stockda ..read more

Living with tinnitus can be tough. It’s also different for everyone, and our experiences tend to change over time. This episode – and there will be similar ones in future – features two people’s stories: Steve and Sean. Both talk openly about how badly tinnitus affected them, but also how they ultimately learned to live with it. We talk extensively about how “learning to live with it” does not necessarily mean everything is fine. But it can mean the difference between pure suffering and leading a normal, though somewhat compromised, life. Steve and Sean also cover tips and tricks for coping wi ..read more

Prof. Dirk De Ridder is one of the most cited tinnitus researchers, a very eloquent speaker, and a passionate advocate for people with tinnitus. He also runs his own brain research centre and clinic Brai3n. We spoke with Dirk about how the brain can create phantom perceptions like pain and tinnitus, and the different schools of thought in this area. He also highlights the role of epigenetics and explains how tinnitus can become intertwined with our sense of self, and how effective treatment should attempt to break that connection. In terms of clinical work, he describes how he works with patie ..read more

Very few commercial drug companies focus on hearing disorders. Even fewer focus on tinnitus. Otonomy does both. In this exclusive interview, we took a deep dive with Otonomy’s executives into their drug pipeline. We spoke to David Weber (PhD), President and CEO, and Alan Foster (PhD), Chief Scientific Officer. They shared their views on what they see as the “renaissance” of hearing research and how there is currently more investor appetite to address hearing issues. We discussed why Otonomy is not only seeking solutions for different kinds of hearing loss, but also tinnitus specifically. The i ..read more

A major obstacle to developing better treatments for tinnitus is the lack of a test or measure that can objectively assess whether someone has tinnitus and how severe it is. Making tinnitus measurable allows researchers to more easily assess the effectiveness of new treatments and meet the expectations of regulators in order to get those treatments to market. We spoke with Mehrnaz Shoushtarian (PhD) from the Bionics Institute in Australia, who are working on an objective measure of tinnitus based on Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and a machine learning program. They believe that ..read more

The two conditions are eerily similar: visual snow and tinnitus. The patient experience is often one of being misunderstood, and research is in its infancy. What can be done? Two pioneers in this field, patient advocate Sierra Domb and neurologist Dr Peter Goadsby, talk about their incredible experiences in trying to push the envelope for visual snow sufferers. Become a Tinnitus Talk Podcast Patron at https://moretinnitustalk.com for bonus content, video interviews, Ask an Expert series, and more ..read more