Tinnitus treatments and research

Supporting research into tinnitus has been a priority for Deafness Research UK since we began in 1985. Having joined forces last year with the charity Action for Tinnitus Research we can now make an even bigger difference to the quality and quantity of tinnitus research in the UK.

We aim to radically improve the quality of service offered to tinnitus sufferers. In addition to the tinnitus research we currently fund, we have committed to funding at least one tinnitus research project as part of our Vacation Scholarship scheme each year and are also considering awarding a new postdoctoral Fellowship in tinnitus.

Opening new routes to tinnitus treatment

Deafness Research UK funded the ground-breaking work to develop Tinnitus Retraining Therapy in the 1990s. TRT is a treatment which combines specially designed counselling sessions with sound therapy.

We set up a Tinnitus Research Group made up of leading UK clinicians and scientists with the aim of getting more researchers into the field. The Group identified research relevant to tinnitus from other areas of medicine. One result is that fundamental research into deafness is now helping to improve our understanding of tinnitus. 

The Group encouraged new researchers into the field such as Dr Carole Hackney at Keele University. Dr Hackney discovered a link between tinnitus and an overproduction of the neurotransmitter glutamate, opening up a route to developing new drug treatments for the condition.

Another Group member, Professor Jonathan Ashmore at University College London, used his knowledge of inner ear function to investigate which parts are involved in generating tinnitus. In turn, his work influenced that of his colleague, Professor Dave McAlpine of the UCL Ear Institute. Professor McAlpine works on understanding the brain processing mechanisms behind tinnitus and is now committed to establishing a tinnitus research programme at UCL.

Recent Deafness Research UK awards for tinnitus research

• We have just awarded a new grant to Dr Martine Hamann and Professor Ian Forsythe at the University of Leicester to investigate whether a molecule that is important for hearing is also involved in tinnitus. Dr Hamann will study the cause of abnormal activity seen after noise-exposure in an area located between the ear and the brain called the dorsal cochlear nucleus. The aim is to find out whether changes to signals by potassium – a key molecule involved in cell to cell communication – are behind the over-activity.
• We are currently funding an important study to establish whether there is evidence for an effect of caffeine on tinnitus. Tinnitus sufferers are routinely told to avoid caffeine, however no link between caffeine and tinnitus has yet been established scientifically. This is important research because, knowing which chemicals can make tinnitus worse may provide vital clues to discovering drugs that could alleviate the symptoms. Dr Lindsay St Claire at the University of Bristol heads the team carrying out the study.
• In keeping with our push to get more people into tinnitus research, we awarded a summer studentship last year with Dr Karolina Kluk de Kort at the University of Manchester. The project looked at the effect of alcohol on the ‘brainwaves’ – electrical activity recorded from the scalp – evoked by sounds in patients with bothersome tinnitus.
• In 2007 our funding allowed Dr David Baguley, Director of Audiology at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, to spend three months as a visiting Professor at the University of Western Australia where he was based in the Ear Sciences Institute. Dr Baguley worked with scientists there to investigate the relationship between tinnitus, hyperacusis and acoustic shock.

Tinnitus research grants history

Since 1985, Deafness Research UK has awarded over £9 million in grants for research into deafness and related conditions. Many of these awards were made to support fundamental research into hearing and deafness, which will undoubtedly help tinnitus research in the long term.

• Awards made specifically for tinnitus research include:
   The role of the efferent system in tinnitus
  £75,276 to Mr Jonathan Hazell FRCS, The Ferens Unit, University College London (1991/92). A three-year Research Fellowship awarded to Dr Rena Graham.
• A neuropsychological investigation of the cognitive difficulties experienced by people with tinnitus
  £ 41,500 to Professor David Rose and Dr Richard Hallam, University of East London (1994/95). A three-year Deafness Research UK/British Tinnitus Association Postgraduate Studentship.
• Cochlear Function in tinnitus patients undergoing Tinnitus Retraining Therapy
  £34,936 to Mr Jonathan Hazell FRCS, The Ferens Unit, University College London (1995/96). A two-year project supported by the Barnwood House Trust.
• The role of the neurotransmitter glutamate in tinnitus and sensori-neural hearing loss.
  £25,000 to Professor Carole Hackney, University of Keele, (1995/96) A postgraduate studentship.
• The application of techniques to measure spontaneous neural activity in the auditory system to tinnitus
  £5,000 to Dr David Baguley, Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge (2007). A small project- knowledge transfer award.
• The impact of blind caffeine withdrawal and abstention on tinnitus. An experimental study to evaluate the assertion that "Caffeine is one of the most common tinnitus aggravators and should be very limited”.
  £55,963 to Dr Lindsey St Claire, University of Bristol (2007/09). A two-year project.
• The effect of alcohol on the auditory evoked potentials in patients with bothersome tinnitus.
  £1,400 to Dr Karolina Kluk-de Kort, University of Manchester (2008). An eight week vacation scholarship award.
• K+ channels : a target for tinnitus?
  £14,916 to Dr Martine Hamann, University of Leicester (2008/09). A six month small project grant.