Technique can pinpoint tinnitus (BBC)

It is possible to pinpoint the area of the brain that is activated when a person suffers from tinnitus, according to US doctors.

Tinnitus is a condition where sounds are heard in one or both ears when there is no external source.

While doctors had thought tinnitus was generated by ear problems, they now believe it is generated in the brain.

The team at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit used a special scanner to map the locations in the brain.

They hope it will allow more targeted therapies to be developed
***
more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8287791.stm

I tell myself it is crickets,than I can sleep despite it.I used to go to sleep in the summer with my windows open (not many people out here had air conditioners in the mid 70's) and I'd hear crickets and other night sounds outside as I went to sleep.So nowadays when the tinnitus is there,I hear the crickets and night noises in January with the windows shut too. Lulz

They find it amazing that I am hearing that all the time.

She might even know (instinctively) about it.

Back in the dark ages, I was put on high dose aspirin therapy. I've had tinnitus since then, even though the trial was only for a few months before I rebelled due to the holes in my gut that also happened.

My hearing is better than predicted for age, but the constant high pitched ringing is annoying as hell, one reason I sleep with a noisy fan even though I can now manage to sleep at night when it's quiet.

Unfortunately, the treatment will probably consist of a burr hole and a carefully targeted surgical instrument to zap the one clump of cells that's misbehaving, saved only for the most severe cases.

At least they know it's all in our heads, now, instead of in our ears.

Back in 1986, I had hurt my back and was given pain killers. About a week on them, and I've no idea what they were, I woke up one day and have suffered from constant noise since.

Amazing(While doctors had thought tinnitus was generated by ear problems) I have it and I could have told them that when you can still hear the damn crickets in spite of fingers in both ears its not ear problems.

there seem to be (AFAIK) different nerve cells in the cochlea for different frequencies. If a few of them got stuck "on", that would have the result that you would always hear that frequency, regardless of whether there were any actual sound vibrations. It seemed to be a good first guess.

Unfortunately, until very recently, the only way to test hypotheses about most sensory malfunctions was by carefully testing people with known damage to the brain or sensory organs resulting from accident or disease. Knowledge was limited by the need to find people with just the 'right' injuries. New techniques like MEG and FNMR have resulted in a huge explosion in understanding of brain function.

When you hear, sound waves beat against your eardrum, causing movement of inner ear bones, which eventually get turned into nerve impulses going into your brain to interpret (simplistic explanation).

I always thought that your brain makes nerve impulses anyways, and when you hear normally, your normal sound/nerve impulses cancel them out, leaving you with what you actually hear. When there is something wrong with your hearing (of specific types), the brain generated nerve impulses are not canceled out, leaving you with tinnitus.

That said, it would be good to figure out where the nerve impulses come from since tinnitus can be a really big issue for some people. I have it all the time, can usually ignore it, and am amused when someone with good hearing says they have it for a short time. It can be very annoying, wish it was a rare occurrence rather than continual.

..an overdose of aspirin way back when.

Seems to be a common theme...

Also...at one point in time...someone claimed they could hear my tinnitus...

"Another part of the brain that lights up is the limbic system which is supposed to govern how we react to things.

"This may explain why some patients can fairly successfully ignore their tinnitus while others find themselves fixated on it."

I've always wondered about that. Mr. MG has tinnitus and it drives him crazy. He always sleeps with an MP3 player going so he can drown it out. I have it too, but unless I decide to focus on it, I don't notice it.