Promising Results in Controlling Tinnitus with Brain Training
Ed. Note: this article is cross-posted on Dr. Merzenich’s blog On The Brain.
I had the great pleasure of visiting a wonderful research team studying the neurological origins and treatment of tinnitus at Washington University Medical School in St. Louis last week. About 30 million U.S. citizens have tinnitus (chronic, persistent ringing in the ears). For about 4 million of them, the tinnitus is identified as “severe” – which means that it is continuously disturbing and intrusive, makes normal sleep very difficult or impossible, has extended cognitive impacts, and grossly degrades the sufferer’s quality of life.
Dr. Jay Piccirillo and Dr. Harold Burton have conducted very important studies in tinnitus patients in their Wash U laboratories. After documenting the tinnitus and the neurological differences between normal individuals and patients with more tolerable (“mild”) or intolerable (“severe”) tinnitus, they sent 20 patients to the ‘brain gym’ to be trained in more accurate listening using Posit Science’s Brain Fitness Program. 16 patients had the stick-to-itiveness to complete the program. 13 of those individuals (more than 80%) had substantial relief from their tinnitus.
I met with four of those patients in St. Louis on Friday. They all told the same story. Their tinnitus had been seriously degrading their quality of life. Two were “severe” suffers. Their tinnitus was continuously annoying and destructive, and with them all through their waking hours. They were perpetually tired and disconnected because they could only sleep when they reached a state of exhaustion and near-collapse. Both “severe” and “mild” sufferers said that tinnitus bouts were substantially less frequent after training. All said that they had more control over their tinnitus, and could now ‘put it out of their mind’ at will. All said that it had greatly helped them sleep. All said that it had resulted in very substantial improvements in their quality of life.
Dr. Piccirillo measured the amplitude of the ringing or clattering sounds that these patients heard, and explained that he did not believe that the tinnitus loudness had been consistently altered by Brain Fitness Program training. What changed was 1) the frequency with which tinnitus rose to consciousness in ways that disrupted an individual’s effective operations at work or in their personal life and 2) the intrusive, disturbing power of the tinnitus. After training, it was far easier for these patients to willfully ignore their tinnitus when it did arise, putting it in its proper place as meaningless noise, not to be attended to.
It was very interesting to hear the two individuals who had “mild” tinnitus describe what it meant to bring their tinnitus under control. I was struck, once again, by the cavalier way that a doctor can use of the word “mild” to describe something that I’m just damn glad that I do not have to endure. Just as for more severely affected individuals, these “mild” tinnitus sufferers described major life-improvement consequences of completing Brain Fitness Program training.
Three of these four patients also vividly described improvements in listening and language abilities, in their attentional control, and in memory and other cognitive abilities resulting from Brain Fitness Program training. Those changes are important because Dr. Burton’s and Dr. Piccirillo’s studies of the brains of these patients document clear evidence of tinnitus-induced brain changes that translate into accelerated cognitive loss. Tinnitus very commonly affects we older folk. It is pretty clear that it is another burden that accelerates our progressive decline. It was wonderful to see that both anti-tinnitus benefits and cognitive recovery were both recorded after Brain Fitness Program training.
It was interesting to see that strong benefits appeared to have been retained in these individuals for at least several weeks after they had completed training. All still had a good level of ‘control’ of their tinnitus. We have to wait to see if further training will be important to keep it under control. Retraining every so often may be necessary. Only time will tell.
We are excited by these results at Posit because we believe that we can augment these effects — and likely still further reduce both the intrusiveness and the magnitude of the ringing in the ears itself. We are now working hard to evaluate the effectiveness of these new-and-improved strategies. It is also exciting to have discovered such a wonderful team of scientists to work with, to help us in the search for a still better solution for dealing with this very common from of quality of life deterioration, distress – and often, torture.
In the meantime, with this preliminary evidence of strong benefits, if tinnitus plagues YOUR life, you might think about discussing these results with your healthcare professional to determine if this type of program might be of benefit to you.
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Posted: Benefits of Brain Fitness, Brain exercise, Brain Fitness Program, Brain plasticity, Neuroscience, Posit Science software, Research studies
Posit Science's corporate blog is the place where our employees share their thoughts about Posit Science and its products, brain fitness, breakthroughs in neuroscience, and any other topic they find interesting and relevant. 
April 4th, 2011 at 3:08 pm
I have suffered from tinnitus since a TBI auto accident in 1984. I don’t use the term “suffered” lightly. There have been times I would like to have put an icepick in my ear just to make the noise stop. To learn of even a POSSIBLE remedy is more exciting than I can find words to describe. Thank you. Donna-Lee Phillips
April 25th, 2011 at 12:40 pm
“Possible” is on the right remedy track for me!
Keep the information flowing.
April 25th, 2011 at 1:17 pm
I HAVE HAD THIS problem for many years, and would welcome some help. If there is ever a study in the Pittsburgh area, I would love to hear about it.
April 25th, 2011 at 1:35 pm
Can I get involved in the research? I have had a severe case of tinnitus for about a year now.
Thanks
April 25th, 2011 at 1:59 pm
Hi Rick and Evelyn, Posit Science is not conducting the research- you can try contacting Dr. Piccirillo’s lab at Washington University of St. Louis to see if they need subjects. Thanks!
April 25th, 2011 at 2:03 pm
I have suffered with tinnitus for years. Now it is constant and loud. Any help would be wonderful.
April 25th, 2011 at 2:20 pm
I’ve had tinnitus in my left ear as the aftermath of an ear infection since 2004. While mine fortunately is not debilitating and I am able to sleep, I have days where the icepick would be a welcome remedy. Love to hear more about any kind of “remedies”.
April 25th, 2011 at 5:35 pm
I just turned 70 years old and I cannot remember ever having a time during my life where I didn’t hear the ringing. I am fortunate I’m able to ignore it most of the time. I completed the auditory brain program 3 times and I can’t say I could tell any difference in my tinnitus. I did see a marked improvement in my memory which has lasted but not in the ringing. I am surprised that such a statistically insignificant result is even being put out there. I really believe in Posit Science and I don’t want to see your credibility in question. Thanks for all you do.
April 25th, 2011 at 6:45 pm
Hi Asta, thanks so much for your candid comment. We would like to state that this is a preliminary result and not a published study. We just wanted to mention that for some people, brain training seems to help with their symptoms- but not for everyone.
April 25th, 2011 at 6:50 pm
I just wanted to let you fellow tinnitus-sufferers know that methyl B12 in high doses is helpful as is rinsing one’s ears with drugstore saline solutions designed for the ears.
I find this helps me control the symptoms as does aromatherapy with oil of Frankinsense.
I am so busy, but I think this braintraining might be a good thing.
April 25th, 2011 at 7:35 pm
Interesting article. I did your full program of Brain Fitness during 2007 and in 2008 I purchased and did InSight.
In early 2010 I developed a tinnitus which so far has worsened considerably.
I have follower all kind or medical treatments to no avail. One of the specialists was asking weather The Brain Fitness sounds were themselves at the origin.
Nobody knows but I am afraid to repeat the program.
Sincerely
April 25th, 2011 at 8:12 pm
Up until three years ago, I suffered a pretty severe case of tinnitus. There was a constant ringing in my ears. However, I was able to deal with it without affecting my quality of my life. In 2008, I was fitted with a pair of tiny behind the hearing aids with small tubes that went into the ears. After a few weeks, I realized that I was no longer hearing the ringing in my ears. Now after three years, I still do not hear any ringing in my ears. I have read of research that has been done concerning tinnitus and hearing aids but am not familiar with the actual reserach. I contribute the improvement to the hearing aids, but do not know how it works, unless the brain rewired itself and blocked out the ringing. My main problem concerning my hearing is mostly related to mid-range and high pitch sounds. My hearing is greatly improved with the aids plus the bonus of no longer hearing the ringing in my ears.
April 25th, 2011 at 10:40 pm
My tinnitus is rooted from three different things: Hearing damage; Fibromyalgia and Chronic Myofascial Pain; and having been (at one time) prescribed Effexor.
Has anybody looked into why neck and jaw muscle problems (such as tension and TMJ) can create/intensify/modify tinnitus effects? As they’re obviously not part of the auditory system, it seems somewhat bizarre that these muscles can produce such hearing anomalies.
Perhaps the reason why some pharmaceuticals (such as SSRI anti-depressants) can cause/intensify tinnitus is that they somehow replicate the conditions necessary to cause neurons to misbehave?
April 26th, 2011 at 7:32 am
I have had the ringing in my ears for some time, but it seems now that I have recognized that it is tinnitus, I focus on it more. I am interested in finding out how I can stop this. Please help.
April 27th, 2011 at 6:36 am
I think I have tinnituu but what I hear is a fizzing sound like 100 glasses of Alka Selzer all fizzing at the same time. Would anybody else describe it like this?
April 27th, 2011 at 7:13 am
I suffered from tinitus soon after my first CABG.
in 1979.My cardiologist prescribed 325 mg Aspirin,which was common during that time after CABG. Sure enough within about a year the so called ringing started.Due to being Clinical Engineer my work was always in hospitals and with doctors, so I contacted many but no luck. Then I tried something which very few people do thru Yoga I taught myself to ignore,its not easy but I had no other option.I learnt to live with it but that does not mean I don’t hear it or get disturbed, I am all the time trying to find out how to bring an end to this constant neusense.
If there is some way one could get rid of this I shall be willing to give it a try.
Thnaks
moti
April 27th, 2011 at 7:58 am
Any more news on this research? Like specific brain fitness programs related to tinnitus?
April 27th, 2011 at 9:09 am
Cam mentioned something about jaw muscle problems. I also have a problem with my jaw (clicking when I open my mouth) on the same side as the tinnitus.
April 27th, 2011 at 9:39 am
Sympathy to anyone made to endure the maddening buzz.
I have what I consider tinnitus but it’s an infrequent thing and the buzzing is only a distraction when i’m sitting quietly and, there are times when it’s a charming sound, much like little brass finger cymbals.
How reassuring to know that another finds some docs cavalier. How often does a patient feel irrelevant because the docs show more interest in symptoms
than patients.
April 27th, 2011 at 10:00 am
Neuromonics has been found to be clinically proven effective for a majority of tinnitus sufferers. http://www.neuromonics.com/patient/index.aspx?rollover=true
I’m doing it now at Duke and am excited and optimistic. Best wishes to fellow sufferers.
Peter
April 27th, 2011 at 10:19 am
Hi Thomas – this is just some preliminary case study information, and we want to stress it’s not published research. The people in this case study did the Brain Fitness Program from Posit Science. But, as other commenters have mentioned, it doesn’t seem to work for everyone with tinnitus, only some.
April 27th, 2011 at 11:51 am
I have had tinnitis for about 8 years. I remember the night it started.I was sick and blowing my nose too hard and often. My husband and I were at our computers and I said to him that I hear a sound like water is running somewhere in the house. He checked everywhere. Found nothing. But I insisted I heard something and I went through the house checking pipes. Then I realized what was happening to me. I am grateful it is not severe enough to interupt my sleep, and I am able to ignore it most of the time, even though it goes on 24/7. After reading what Barbara Kish said, I guess I could consider the ringing like a fizzing sometimes. About 30 years ago I developed TMJ, and about 15 years ago I started using SSRI antidepressants. FYI.
I appreciate reading everyone’s story and I wish us all the best in trying to end this horror.
April 27th, 2011 at 2:16 pm
Barbara – I too have tinnitus that is like fizzing instead of ringing. I contracted a virus (felt like a bad cold) and lost all hearing in my right ear – ALL HEARING. However, I still have the fizzing – all day and night. Luckily it is not severe and most of the time does not bother me. Losing my hearing does bother me however.
April 27th, 2011 at 4:59 pm
I have the sound of the old steam radiator ( i am 85) and it seems to be mainly in my right ear, I do not remember when it started but i feel like i have always had it, I am used to it and it does not irritate me and I just notice it when it is quiet. It does not interfer with my hearing.
April 27th, 2011 at 5:01 pm
PS – I also hear my pulse in my right ear when things are quiet
April 27th, 2011 at 11:26 pm
my tinnitus (mild and when tired ) I haven’t noticed since having hearing aids which I don’t wear all the time
Just getting used to hearing aids is an event in itself !!
April 28th, 2011 at 12:28 am
Once again, PositScience appears to deliver the very best and reliable “brain fitness” info for the masses!
This appears to confirm my work with tinnitus sufferers over the past 12 years, including my own battle with it. If proven effective and combined with my present program, this would definitely increase recovery/management rates beyond the reach of any other protocol.
Robert L. Bayliss
Nashville, TN
April 28th, 2011 at 5:40 am
Page for those interested in participating in research
https://tinnitus.wustl.edu/Register.aspx survey
April 28th, 2011 at 9:05 am
I have ringing constantly; worsens with emotional
upset or loud noises. Cranial sacral therapy
helps some ear problems, especially when structure
is involved, as TMJ or result of accidents.
My tinnitus was greatly lessened with cranial sacral therapy. Look up Upledger.com to find a therapist in your area. I am now nearly deaf in my “tinnitus” ear. Mine may be related to teeth misalignment. Being deaf is worse than the tinnitus. I’m still searching
for help.
April 28th, 2011 at 12:13 pm
Is there any evidence that Brain Training might impact positively on chronic pain?
April 28th, 2011 at 1:52 pm
Hi,
I’ve had tinnitus for 30 years. Took part in a program to eliminate same–worked for 2 miutes then failed.
any good ideas are always welcome.
Mort Goodkin
April 28th, 2011 at 2:56 pm
I have tinnitus in both ears. Started in one right after I dove deep in my pool. Not sure how the other one started. Its not too bad. Sounds very much like what it used to sound like after I left a noisy room at a party. At least I can sleep. Earlier this year I saw some adds in a Florida paper for potential new treatments. I didn’t follow up unfortunately but would be interested if anyone else knows of other treatments. In the meantime I will try the brain test work.
April 30th, 2011 at 11:16 pm
When did you begin to get feedback on the potential benefit of tinnitus relief thru Brain Fitness?
What will initiate research on the other odd (almost grinding)noise in the ears following TTBI?
May 4th, 2011 at 11:26 am
#13, Cam above, asked a question that I think my personal experience might have somewhat of an answer to. Last year out of the blue I started experiencing very loud continual tinnitus in my left ear, along with an unbalanced/dizzy sensation which would come and go and a “squeaking” in my left jaw when I would bite down. This went on for months and my doctors couldn’t figure out any cause even after many expensive tests- MRI’s, balance tests, etc. Then I happened to go to a chiropractor for some back pain I was having (she also just by luck happened to have extensive credentials in soft tissue work as well), and I mentioned to her about this tinnitus/dizzy problem. She thought about it for a minute and had an idea. She then paid extra attention to my neck/bottom of my skull/jaw area in my exam. She found that those muscles were all extremely knotted and tensed. Over the next few sessions she primarily did adjustments to my first few vertebrae and did lots of soft tissue work to get rid of the massive knots at the base of my skull/jaw area where it nears the ear. And Hallelujia, the ringing dropped substantially in volume very quickly and the dizziness went away. It took about 14 regular sessions over several months for it to remain away for a week or more at a time, and then a return visit every few months when it would flare up again, but it has been thoroughly gone, not even a low level ringing, for several months now. She explained that there is a nerve that goes to your inner ear that runs through a very small area at the base of your ear near your skull. In my case it appears that when all the muscles knotted, that the nerve got pinched and created all my symptoms. Removing the rock-hard muscle knots (and fixing the out-of-place vertabrae that were causing those knots) solved the problem. I’m by no means saying this is the case with everyone with tinninitus, but my husband, who has mild tinnitus, has noticed his gets much worse when he has been sitting with terrible computer game-playing posture for hours as well, so this knotted muscle issue might be something for some tinnitus sufferers to think about.
May 16th, 2011 at 10:49 am
since the subject of chiropractic has come up, i would like to add the following for general information: from experience, finding a chiropractor who is good at what he/she does is a godsend. she, or he, ought to take the time to explain that manipulating the spine is but a way to a balanced neuro highway. it seems there are two ways to go about this manipulation and i chose the gentler method although, i believe, it takes more visits of adjustment.
June 12th, 2011 at 2:33 pm
I want to know more abaut it
July 10th, 2011 at 7:46 pm
Tinnitus in both ears, with bells in one ear when I shake my head from side to side. Lots of allergies and stuffiness all year round. Hearing impacted – will look into hearing aids. Tired of this – same pitch as the doorbell, which I can’t hear, of course! Good to read others are going through same thing, although we all have different levels of this annoying syndrome! I am pursuing with an ear/nose/throat doc this week to see what he has to say.
September 28th, 2011 at 6:12 pm
In 2008, The team at Posit Science suggested that I try the Brain Fitness Program for my tinnitus since there was anecdotal evidence that it helped some people. I did stick with it but it did not help in my case. (Side note: my high end hearing loss did stabilize over the next two years according to my hearing tests.) If the Brain Fitness software does get modified to more effectively address tinnitus, please let me know. Thanks.
September 28th, 2011 at 9:07 pm
I have had this for about 8 years now. Right now it is high pitched in both ears. I would love help to alleviate this.
Sometimes it seems that the more silent serene places enable me to hear just how loud the ringing in both ears is.
September 29th, 2011 at 7:34 am
My tinnitus started in November 2001. I thought I was hearing ciccadas outside and was confused as to why they were “chirping up”. Then, I realized that it was ringing in my ears. I had been taking Wellbutrin in high doses for smoking cessation and apparently was also grinding my teeth at night (because of the 9/11 attack and aftermath). I started doing research and went off the Wellbutrin, went to a dentist for the Jaw Pain, and went to a neurologist for MRI imaging. The only treatment I received was some bite guards from the dentist, and this did help the jaw pain. I have not had relief for the tinnitus. I have tried chiropractic, massage, exercise….and they all have some beneficial effect, but the tinnitus continues to some degree or another. I think it is such a multifactoral thing and it is unfortunate that it has not been solved with a definitive treatment. But, I continue to try and would not hesitate to do the brain training.