Cross-Modal Tinnitus Remediation: A Tentative Theoretical Framework

Author:

Shahin Antoine J.12ORCID,Gonzales Mariel G.1,Dimitrijevic Andrew3

Affiliation:

1. Department of Cognitive and Information Sciences, University of California, Merced, CA 95343, USA

2. Health Science Research Institute, University of California, Merced, CA 95343, USA

3. Sunnybrook Research Institute, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M4N 3M5, Canada

Abstract

Tinnitus is a prevalent hearing-loss deficit manifested as a phantom (internally generated by the brain) sound that is heard as a high-frequency tone in the majority of afflicted persons. Chronic tinnitus is debilitating, leading to distress, sleep deprivation, anxiety, and even suicidal thoughts. It has been theorized that, in the majority of afflicted persons, tinnitus can be attributed to the loss of high-frequency input from the cochlea to the auditory cortex, known as deafferentation. Deafferentation due to hearing loss develops with aging, which progressively causes tonotopic regions coding for the lost high-frequency coding to synchronize, leading to a phantom high-frequency sound sensation. Approaches to tinnitus remediation that demonstrated promise include inhibitory drugs, the use of tinnitus-specific frequency notching to increase lateral inhibition to the deafferented neurons, and multisensory approaches (auditory–motor and audiovisual) that work by coupling multisensory stimulation to the deafferented neural populations. The goal of this review is to put forward a theoretical framework of a multisensory approach to remedy tinnitus. Our theoretical framework posits that due to vision’s modulatory (inhibitory, excitatory) influence on the auditory pathway, a prolonged engagement in audiovisual activity, especially during daily discourse, as opposed to auditory-only activity/discourse, can progressively reorganize deafferented neural populations, resulting in the reduced synchrony of the deafferented neurons and a reduction in tinnitus severity over time.

Funder

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communications Disorders

Publisher

MDPI AG

Subject

General Neuroscience

Reference70 articles.

1. Tinnitus and underlying brain mechanisms;Galazyuk;Curr. Opin. Otolaryngol. Head Neck Surg.,2012

2. Tinnitus-related distress: A review of recent findings;Malouff;Curr. Psychiatry Rep.,2011

3. Underlying Mechanisms of Tinnitus: Review and Clinical Implications;Henry;J. Am. Acad. Audiol.,2014

4. Tinnitus: Causes and clinical management;Langguth;Lancet Neurol.,2013

5. (2023, November 10). Tinnitus, Available online: https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/tinnitus#2.

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3