New technique to help the brain ‘unlearn’ phantom perceptions to be discussed at tinnitus conference

Posted on: 06 June 2023

A new technique which could help tinnitus patients ‘unlearn’ the phantom perceptions associated with the condition will be among cutting-edge discoveries discussed at a conference in Trinity College Dublin this week.

Tinnitus is a common problem affecting 10-15% of people, but current treatments for the condition only serve to reduce the distress associated with the symptoms rather than address the problem itself — hearing ringing, buzzing and other sounds in the ear.

While most patients can cope adequately with their tinnitus, around one fifth of tinnitus  patients experience severe tinnitus, which can be accompanied by frustration, annoyance, anxiety, depression, cognitive dysfunction, insomnia and stress, all of which lead to a substantial decrease in quality of life.

A gathering of world-leading researchers, technicians, patient support advocates and people living with tinnitus will take place this week in Trinity College Dublin. By bridging the gap between academia, industry, medicine and society, the conference aims to capitalise on ground-breaking new research in tinnitus, some of which is being carried out in Ireland, to open new avenues of clinical practice and patient-engagement strategies.

The conference, ‘Engineering the future of tinnitus: Bridging Academia, Industry, Medicine & Society’, will take place on June 6th – 9th, 2023. It is being hosted by the Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience – home to the Clinical & Integrative Neuroscience lab (Lab CLINT) which is conducting breakthrough research on chronic tinnitus.

By demonstrating that tinnitus is the consequence of altered neural activity in specific brain networks rather than an ear problem, discoveries at Lab CLINT have contributed to a paradigm shift in how we understand the ‘phantom perceptions’ associated with tinnitus and chronic pain.

These breakthroughs are leading to the development of new clinical approaches to treatment including a new method which could be used to unlearn the phantom perceptions experienced by pain and tinnitus patients. Members of Lab CLINT will discuss this research at the conference (more information below).

The conference will also feature presentations from world-leading researchers on topics ranging from the genetic landscape of tinnitus to online behavioural therapy for the condition. For the first time, the conference will see the application of computational modelling to tinnitus and how this can revolutionise research design to avoid research waste and design more effective and efficient experimental designs.

Sven Vanneste, Professor of Neuroscience, who leads Lab CLINT, said: “Tinnitus sufferers deserve a more permanent solution to what can be a very distressing problem. Ireland is leading the way in tinnitus research and this conference will bring together world-class scientists, industrialists, clinicians, health economists, and patient organisations to help translate exciting new research into much-needed treatment and management strategies for people living with tinnitus. 

“We aspire to join hands with experts from emerging scientific fields, such as big data science, personalised medicine, neuroinflammation and genetics, who can give us insights about their successful translations from bench to bedside. We hope to open new avenues of research, clinical practices, and patient engagement strategies in tinnitus, setting us on a path of disruptive innovation in collaboration with funding agencies and industry partners. ”

A public event aimed at people living with tinnitus will feature updates on the latest developments in tinnitus research and clinical practices. Organised by the Tinnitus Research Initiative Foundation in collaboration with the Global Brain Health Institute this event will take place on Friday, June 9, in Trinity Business School (14:00 to 17:30).

At the event, entitled ‘Finding your tinnitus community’, patient organisations from around the globe will outline supports available and guidelines on how to manage the condition. This event aims to create a new community network to link people living with tinnitus with local and global professionals in the tinnitus field. It will also explore how the arts can be used to help build a creative community for people living with tinnitus.

Anusha Yasoda-Mohan, Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health, Trinity, explained:  

“Tinnitus, for some people, can be a very overwhelming experience. For people living with tinnitus in Ireland, there is no clear care pathway with waiting lists for specialists of up to three years. This can be a very desolate and isolating time.

“The ‘Finding your tinnitus community’ event will be the first step in building a creative community through the arts. Such a community will provide peer support for people living with tinnitus. It will also quite literally help them ‘get out of their heads’ and ‘into their bodies’ to help manage their condition. Co-creative community practices have been very successful in other arenas, such as dementia care. This will be the first time that this approach has been taken in tinnitus care.”

See the ‘Engineering the future of tinnitus: Bridging Academia, Industry, Medicine & Society’ website for the full programme.

More about tinnitus research in Trinity:

The Clinical & Integrative Neuroscience (lab CLINT) in Trinity’s School of Psychology and the Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience is undertaking ground-breaking research on chronic tinnitus and chronic pain. Led by Sven Vanneste, Professor of Neuroscience at the School of Psychology, the lab is advancing fundamental knowledge of human brain function to develop new clinical application and treatment approaches. In particular, the lab is working to further our understanding of  brain function, including the ‘phantom perceptions’ associated with tinnitus and chronic pain.

By demonstrating that tinnitus is the consequence of altered neural activity in specific brain networks rather than an ear problem, the lab has contributed to a paradigm shift in how we understand tinnitus. Researchers at the lab demonstrated that tinnitus has different subtypes related to hearing loss. They have also illustrated that similar neural mechanisms play a role in different subtypes, which is also valid for chronic pain such as fibromyalgia and neuropathic pain.

These findings have led to new treatment approaches such as invasive and non-invasive brain stimulation techniques that are used in clinics and hospitals all over the world. A new method currently under development in the lab to activate specific brain circuits could be used to unlearn the phantom percept present in pain and tinnitus patients.

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