Does neuromodulation have what it takes to silence tinnitus for the long-term?

It is estimated that 1 in 8 people in the UK suffer from chronic tinnitus.

Currently, the most effective treatment strategies are psychological management approaches that reduce the distress caused by the tinnitus, but do not change the tinnitus itself, and to date there is no treatment that has a consistent and reliable long-term effect on tinnitus loudness or annoyance.

Non-invasive neuromodulation approaches have been proposed as a means to directly influence tinnitus-generating neural networks in the brain.

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) seems particularly promising, with reliable temporary suppression of tinnitus in study participants (up to 70%), and complete remission for up to three days in some cases.

With high-definition (HD) tDCS, specific brain regions can be targeted, but the optimum stimulation regions and paradigms still need to be determined which can result in to long lasting impact on tinnitus.

In this project, we will compare the effects of HD-tDCS of auditory cortex or prefrontal cortex or simultaneous stimulation of both brain areas, to determine the most effective stimulation paradigm for long-term tinnitus reduction (study 1).

Additionally, we will use fMRI to investigate changes in tinnitus-generating networks in the brain through HD-tDCS (study 2), which will help us understand the mechanisms of tinnitus suppression in the brain.

The data collected in this project will serve as pilot data to enable large-scale clinical trials of HD-tDCS for tinnitus management, which could then provide the evidence base required to establish HD-tDCS as a clinically viable management option for chronic tinnitus.