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Brain Sciences
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New Insights Into the Treatment of Subjective Tinnitus
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New Insights Into the Treatment of Subjective Tinnitus

A special issue of Brain Sciences (ISSN 2076-3425). This special issue belongs to the section "Sensory and Motor Neuroscience".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 October 2025) | Viewed by 2561

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Mark N. Wallace

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Hearing Sciences, Division of Clinical Neurosciences, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
Interests: neuromodulation; auditory system; tinnitus models; biomarkers of tinnitus; tinnitus therapy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Subjective tinnitus is a broad term describing a common symptom produced by a cascade of inter-related pathological changes in the peripheral and central nervous systems. In the past, tinnitus was assumed to be caused by damage to the cochlea, auditory nerve, or central auditory system; however, it is now clear that other peripheral nerves and central structures may also be involved. Attempts at developing a specific pharmacotherapy for tinnitus look promising. In the meantime, the use of hearing aids and cognitive behavioral therapy provide relief for some people. Moreover, a device for bimodal stimulation has recently been approved by the FDA.

By bringing together current research on providing improved treatments for tinnitus, we hope to provide greater insights into the mechanisms involved and identify the most effective therapeutic targets.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Identifying altered neural responses or connectivity between regions in relation to tinnitus;
  • Improvement of neuroimaging research methods in relation to tinnitus;
  • Improvement in therapeutic methods for treatment involving invasive or non-invasive stimulation of the brain;
  • Suppression of tinnitus by electrical stimulation of one of the cranial nerves in combination with acoustic stimulation;
  • Advances in any other form of therapeutic intervention – whether pharmacological, sound generated, or behavioral.

We look forward to your submissions.

Dr. Mark N. Wallace
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Brain Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • tinnitus neurobiology
  • tinnitus pathophysiology
  • non-invasive electrical stimulation
  • bimodal therapy
  • pharmacotherapy
  • tinnitus management
  • neurorehabilitation

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 1901 KB  
Article
Phase II Clinical Study on Low-Intensity-Noise Tinnitus Suppression (LINTS) for Tinnitus Treatment
by Konstantin Tziridis, Lara Heep, Nathalie Piwonski, Katharina Nguyen, Nikola Kölbl, Achim Schilling and Holger Schulze
Brain Sci. 2025, 15(11), 1222; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci15111222 - 13 Nov 2025
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Abstract
Background/Objectives: Tinnitus treatment is often based on coping strategies, as, still, no causal treatment is available. Based on our “Erlangen model” of tinnitus development, we treated tinnitus patients with individualized, non-masking low-intensity noise (LIN) to reduce the tinnitus loudness. Methods: A [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Tinnitus treatment is often based on coping strategies, as, still, no causal treatment is available. Based on our “Erlangen model” of tinnitus development, we treated tinnitus patients with individualized, non-masking low-intensity noise (LIN) to reduce the tinnitus loudness. Methods: A total of 72 adult patients with a tinnitus severity index below IV (tinnitus health questionnaire, THQ), a hearing loss not exceeding 40 dB up to 6 kHz, and without experience in hearing aid (HA) usage were included in this study. Their audiograms, tinnitus parameters, THQ scores, and optimal LIN were determined individually. Patients were double-blinded, assigned to a treatment-only (TO) or placebo-and-treatment (PT) group. The TO patients received treatment for four weeks while the PT patients initially received a placebo (low-intensity white noise) stimulation for two weeks and, hereinafter, treatment for four weeks. Every two weeks, the measurements listed above were repeated. The long-term effects on THQ were assessed four weeks after the end of treatment. The data were analyzed by parametric and nonparametric statistics. Results: We identified a significant decrease in the THQ score already after two (η2 = 0.14) and four weeks of treatment (η2 = 0.43), that was still present four weeks after the end of treatment (η2 = 0.15) in the TO group. Subjective individual patient reports hint at a possible complete suppression of the percept by LINTS. The PT group profited much less, as the initial placebo treatment seemed to counteract the LIN effects. Conclusions: Individually fitted LIN treatment seems to be able to suppress tinnitus, in some cases completely. The optimal fitting of the LIN is crucial for treatment success. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights Into the Treatment of Subjective Tinnitus)
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15 pages, 1838 KB  
Article
Breathing Rate as a Marker for Noise-Induced Stress in Guinea Pigs
by Mark N. Wallace, Joel I. Berger, Christian J. Sumner, Alan R. Palmer, Michael A. Akeroyd and Peter A. McNaughton
Brain Sci. 2025, 15(11), 1152; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci15111152 - 27 Oct 2025
Viewed by 616
Abstract
Background: Breathing rate is affected by physical stressors such as temperature or hypercapnia and by psychosocial stressors such as noise or overcrowding. In behavioral tests for tinnitus, rodents are often presented with trains of startle pulses. We postulated that using these pulses at [...] Read more.
Background: Breathing rate is affected by physical stressors such as temperature or hypercapnia and by psychosocial stressors such as noise or overcrowding. In behavioral tests for tinnitus, rodents are often presented with trains of startle pulses. We postulated that using these pulses at successively higher sound levels would produce a cumulative increase in stress. Here, we demonstrate a novel means of assessing that increase in stress. Methods: By placing pairs of reflective markers on the abdomen and using a motion tracking system, we were able to remotely measure respiratory movements. A series of 20 startle pulses were presented in sequence at seven increasing sound levels, and changes in respiratory rate were tested with the Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed rank test and the Friedman Test. Results: Markers placed on 20 alert active mice showed evidence of sniffing behavior but no purely respiratory signal. By contrast, in all 18 guinea pigs, abdominal markers did track respiratory movements. The breathing rate in guinea pigs was similar to previous studies: (mean 104 ± 13; range 86–131 bpm). Presenting quiet startle pulses to guinea pigs caused a significant increase in breathing rate (by about 20%), even with pulses at 75–80 dB SPL. Increasing pulse sound levels in the range of 85–105 dB SPL did not reliably produce any further increase in breathing rate. Conclusions: We propose that tracking abdominal movement may allow measurement of psychosocial stress in the guinea pig. Once an animal is startled, increasing the pulse sound level did not produce any further increase in stress levels. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights Into the Treatment of Subjective Tinnitus)
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