Electric Shocks To the Tongue Can Reduce Ringing in Ears

Tinnitus is the perception of ringing in the ears, it is not a condition itself, but rather a symptom of an underlying condition. Around 15 to 20 percent of people are affected by it, with around 10 percent of the adult population of the United States reporting that their tinnitus lasted at least five minutes in the past year. 

It is difficult to understand what causes tinnitus or how to treat it. Now scientists have discovered that by shocking the tongue combined with a carefully designed sound program, it can reduce the symptoms of this disorder.

This process can help rewire the brain circuits in its noise perception. According to the scientists, patients can experience relief from these symptoms not only while being treated, but even up to a year later.

In many cases of tinnitus, the brain hears sounds that aren't actually there. In the study in the Science Translational Medicine journal, the researchers say that through the use of bimodal neuromodulation contraption, which combines sound and gentle electrical shock, it can discipline the brain's misbehaving neurons.

Hubert Lim, co-author of the study, said that this electrical shock feels like Pop Rocks candy dissolving in your mouth. As the brain can only process so many things at once, the combination of shock and sound may suppress the activity that causes tinnitus.

Discovery on the Role of the Tongue on Tinnitus

Hubert Lim, a biomedical engineer at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, was experimenting on restoring patient's hearing through the use of the deep brain stimulation technique, when he discovered the role of the tongue in tinnitus by accident. 

While inserting a pencil-size rod covered in electrodes directly into the brains of five patients, some of those electrodes missed the target area. This is a common problem with deep brain stimulation and as a result a patient who had tinnitus suddenly mentioned he can no longer hear it.

There are certain kinds of tinnitus, such as repeated muscular contractions in the ear, where people actually hear real sounds. But in most cases, it's the brain that is perceiving sounds that aren't there.

Successful Outcome or Is It?

The team had 326 adults who participated in the study. More than 80% of them sat for an hour each day for 12 weeks wearing headphones while a device was strapped to their tongue. This small plastic paddle has tiny electrodes that delivered electrical current to shock the brain, and the headphones delivered a more targeted hit to the brain's auditory system. The combination of these two was to distract the brain by heightening its sensitivity, and forcing it to suppress the activity that causes tinnitus.

81% of those participants reported improved sleep and concentration, less anxiety, and an overall better quality of life. These improvements were sustained for more than three-quarters of the subjects, even a year after the treatment.

A University of Iowa audiologist who was not involved with the study admitted that this was a thorough study, however, because of the lack of a control group and the study was funded by Neuromod Devices, which is developing and selling the bimodal neuromodulation device, these study results must be replicated by those not tied to Neuromod before mass producing these devices. 

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