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Re:_[microsound]_Brain_Can_Generate_Unexplained_Noise_In_Ears



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this is a brief-report about Tinnitus; i 'm interested in this pathology because the concept of my first  release is " Misophonia"

ciao

stefano\urkuma

 

 

 

Tinnitus-Report:

Tinnitus  is the perception of sounds, ringing, hissing or any other sound when no external sound is present. Misophonia (dislike of outside sounds)  often emerge in quiet places The auditory system evolved in the presence of continuous nature sound. Silence is unnatural and associated with danger and evokes a warning response. 

Practically every one had experience of tinnitus just like a temporary nuisance, but, for millions of people it a life altering condition.

Many patients are so seriously debilitated to ask for medical assistance because they can not have a normal life.

The exact physiological causes of tinnitus are not well known but we begin to understand many things. There are some likely sources known to trigger or worsen tinnitus: noise induced hearing loss (90% of tinnitus patients), wax in the ear canal, ear or sinus infections, cardiovascular disease, jaw misalignment, thyroid disorders, mechanical trauma (head and neck), Ménière's disease (with violent attack of vertigo), acoustic neuroma, etc.

 Tinnitus can have two origin: 

1.     Extrinsic: vascular cause, muscular, from secretion, from joints and arthritis, otosclerosis, etc. 

2.     Intrinsic o "idiopathic": identifiable in auditive neuro-sensorial or without apparent cause. 

 

Modern sound environments versus nature

 

In nature, there is a continuous background of nature sounds. Silence is a warning signal, usually indicating the arrival of a predator. In modern society, we have constructed solid buildings, which exclude sound, and are often double-glazed to reduce heat-loss. This means that the rooms we live and work in can have very low levels of natural back ground noise, particularly at night. 

  In many countries, especially in the west, there is a tendency for smaller social units, with more people, particularly older people, living alone in very quiet surroundings. The ready availability of earplugs means that they are often used, not just to protect the ear from damage, but also to avoid hearing any sounds, particularly at night. With an increasing number of older people in our populations, there are many more with varying degrees of hearing loss.  Proper use of hearing aids is far below what is needed, and this has the effect of imposing a ?relative silence?.  

  One feature of our western culture is the way in which silence is imposed in childhood.  We are told be quiet when we go to bed / do your homework etc. It is during these times that childhood tinnitus and misophonia emerges, as well as the development of behavioural patterns for seeking silence in adult life.  We even have the saying ?Silence is golden;?  - it is NOT! 

  

  Effects of reduced environmental sound 

  The Heller and Berman (quiet room) experiment tells us that tinnitus emergence (the first experience of tinnitus) is experienced by anyone who listens carefully in a quiet room for 5 minutes. Most of us do this every night of our life when we retire to a quiet study, lounge or bedroom. It is perhaps surprising that we can do this for so many years without having any experience of tinnitus. Animal experiments have shown us that the auditory system itself increases in sensitivity when background noise drops below a certain level, resulting in increased gain, or amplification, of external sounds. This is the mechanism of hyperacusis. This means that there is more chance of picking up very weak sounds (e.g. predators!) in silence, rather than in enriched environments. When these sounds come from normal nerve cell activity in the brain, tinnitus emerges. 

    Loudness of any sound depends on the contrast between the signal and any background noise. Consider listening to a car radio on the motorway, with the volume up at a comfortable listening level, and then driving off into a quiet side road, or garage. The radio can then cause loudness discomfort in a normal listener. In silence, the loudness of even quiet sounds may be perceived as very loud, particularly is they have strong meaning (e.g. a burglar alarm at night 200 metres down the street). For the same reason tinnitus will sound very loud if there is no sound enrichment. When in silence, the attentional focus of the auditory system can only be directed to the one sound (e.g. tinnitus). There is no possibility of not hearing it. 

  Changes in the auditory system can only occur if it is being stimulated with sound. These changes are necessary for the habituation (or blocking) of intrusive external sounds and tinnitus. Plasticity (the ability to change / reprogramme) is reduced by silence. Reduced stimulation of nerve connections concerned with gain or amplification, and also with the aversive reaction to sound, results in habituation being slowed down significantly. 

  These effects continue during sleep. The cortex is in a low state of activity in sleep, so we have no conscious awareness of ourselves, or our environment. However, at this time, subconscious pathways and auditory filters needed for selective hearing, function normally. The failure to enrich our sound environment during sleep means the effectiveness of sound stimulation in increasing plasticity, is reduced by at least one third.

 

 

 martin_friberg <martin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:This was a bit scary in a way... When I got out of bed this morning I 
listened to the ringing of my tinnitus and figured I'd ask the members of 
this list if they suffer from the same "handicap" as me. And when I check 
my mailbox, I find this.

This has nothing to do with the content of that articl really, but I wonder 
if any of you (who has tinnitus) has noticed better hearing , as in more 
sensitive, after you got tinnitus? I do, or at least I think I do. Some 
frequencies tend to sound more focused compared to others (this way of 
thinking may be as stupid as telling a colour blind person to describe the 
colour red...) and I'm more sensitive to high frequencies than others seem 
to be. 

I do have my own Ronnie Sundin concert playing in my head all the time and 
I think it goes hand in hand with Brian Eno's thoughts about furniture 
music. :)

::martin friberg
::www.twisterella.com
::www.honeyspiderthree.nu

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