Tinnitus (Photo : Facebook)
Researchers recently discovered that it may not be possible to treat what is termed as "Ringing Ears". The medical condition is called Tinnitus which displays symptoms of patients having a constant ringing in their ears. Researchers say that this medical condition does not actually exist.
The condition itself may arise from a number of factors ranging from injuries and diseases. A research team at the University of Iowa published their findings in the magazine "Current Biology". The aim of the research was to monitor the brain of the patients by using a technique that mapped their brain's activities.
While this technique is commonly used to treat epilepsy, researchers wanted to study the effects on the brain that occurs when tinnitus occurs. Both strong and weak occurrences of the brain were recorded. A ringing sound was also duplicated to expose the patients in order to measure the brains activities, according to Silver Link.
Researchers were able to find that brain activities spanned over large sections of the brain with regard to the actual tinnitus itself. Yet when the ringing sound was mimicked by the researches then a very small portion of the brain responded, according to Iowa Now.
This means that the brain creates a perception that there is a ringing sound to fill in sounds that are missing after hearing damage. However, in reality such a ringing sound does not exist in the first place.
As this condition stimulates many parts of the brain, it is considered different to localize a spot and administer the correct medicine to help control the symptoms. In a method known as Neurofeedback, where the patients are taught to control their brainwaves patients may see positive results in controlling the ringing sound.
The intensity of the ringing may even debilitate the patients and therefore this is an important discovery that may help improve their condition.
