Neuroimaging-Based Objective Diagnostic Tool to Detect Subjective Tinnitus
Abstract
Tinnitus is the perception of ringing, hissing, buzzing, roaring, and other sounds that seem to be coming from one ear, both ears, or somewhere in the head, but there is no actual external sound source. Occupational noise exposure is the major reason for living with constant, chronic tinnitus. Military personnel and civilians in certain professions, such as firefighters and construction workers, are at increased risk for noise trauma. Roadside bombs, noisy work environments, and affinity for portable music appliances are contributing to growing hearing loss and tinnitus. Tinnitus is the #1 service-connected disability for Veterans. Tinnitus disability compensation for Veterans was $1.2 billion (B) in 2012 and may exceed $3B by 2017. In the general U.S. population, over 2 million citizens are severely disabled from their tinnitus. Despite its high prevalence (10% to 15% of the population), tinnitus remains a non-observable, self-reported medical condition. This can be frustrating both for patients who seek to understand the biological basis of their condition and for providers who seek an objective test to confirm diagnosis. An objective tool to detect tinnitus and monitor treatment response would be very useful to advance medical care for military personnel, Veterans, and the general public. Chronic tinnitus imaging patterns identified from noninvasive technologies, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and magnetoencephalography imaging (MEGI), provide a strong foundation to develop an objective test. We plan to extend and refine brain connection abnormality findings in chronic tinnitus to create a high-quality diagnostic tool. We will recruit two groups of subjects, composed of those with and without tinnitus that cover a wide range of hearing loss patterns, between the ages of 18 and 75, for this study. Subjects will be recruited from the general population and Veterans across two separate study sites with different imaging scanners to ensure that our test for tinnitus will be broadly valid. This research will have immediate and enduring impact. The short-term impact of this study is to provide patients and providers with an objective diagnostic tool to diagnose and monitor tinnitus. Tinnitus patients will have better understanding of the biological basis of their condition and providers will have an objective test to confirm diagnosis. Furthermore, this research will deliver a novel instrument to nonhuman researchers to refine animal models of tinnitus. The long-term impact of this work is to enable biomarker-based monitoring of treatment response and targeting of neuromodulation interventions. Innovative approaches that aim to disrupt abnormal brain networks identified through multimodal functional imaging may be developed to treat troublesome tinnitus. This approach may be extended to other phantom perceptual disorders, such as chronic centralized pain.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Oct 29, 2018
- Source ID
- W81XWH1810741
Entities
People
- Steven W. Cheung
Organizations
- United States Army
- University of California, San Francisco