Tinnitus Talk

Are tinnitus and chronic pain alike? Very much so, believes pain researcher Prof. Peter McNaughton from King’s College London. He discovered a drug that works through ion channels on both chronic pain and tinnitus. Peter also talks about his rather controversial belief that tinnitus is a peripheral rather than central phenomenon, meaning that it originates in the ear and/or other outer areas of th...

This might be our most exciting podcast episode ever! We are very proud to announce the new foundation that we co-founded: Tinnitus Quest. In this episode, Hazel speaks with co-founder Sven Köllmann, a German entrepreneur, and Dirk de Ridder, one of the most renowned tinnitus researchers – both will take board seats in the newly formed Tinnitus Quest non-profit. Tinnitus Quest has a sole vision: t...

We often talk about the lack of research and funding for tinnitus. But what about the quality of research? Do tinnitus sufferers benefit from the research that is conducted? In reality, many studies are conducted improperly, thus giving misleading results and false promises for patients. During this episode, we dive deep into concepts like research design, patient selection, outcome measures, stat...

We revisited with an old friend of the podcast: Dr. Josef Rauschecker. He was our first ever guest – go back and listen to that episode! – who came up with the famous 'gating' theory of tinnitus. Josef’s gating theory poses that while neural ‘noise’ may arise in the ear and lower brain regions due to hearing loss, this noise is typically cancelled out further up the auditory pathway. For most peop...

Maybe you heard of sound therapy devices like Neuromonics, Desyncra, and SoundCure? Or more recently, Lenire? Hazel talks to Steve Harrison, a musician and audiophile who has suffered from severe tinnitus for decades. Steve knows all about the use of sound for tinnitus relief. Rather than relying on expensive devices, which typically can only do one thing, Steve recommends experimenting with sound...

Meet Brian Fargo, a successful video game developer who – when he developed tinnitus – tried every imaginable treatment to get rid of it, to no avail. Frustrated at the lack of effective treatment options, he decided to put his money where his mouth is. He funded the research of Dr. Hamid Djalilian from UC Irvine, who is testing electrical stimulation of the inner ear to alleviate tinnitus. His re...

We hear figures of up to 20-30% of the population supposedly having tinnitus, but is tinnitus really that prevalent? In this episode, we learn that such data is based on population studies where people are asked questions like “have you heard ringing in your ears for more than 5 minutes in the past year?”. That’s not helpful data. When it comes to finding better treatments, we need to zoom in on c...

Living with tinnitus can be tough. It’s also different for everyone, and our experiences tend to change over time. This episode – and there will be similar ones in future – features two people’s stories: Steve and Sean. Both talk openly about how badly tinnitus affected them, but also how they ultimately learned to live with it. We talk extensively about how “learning to live with it” does not nec...

Prof. Dirk De Ridder is one of the most cited tinnitus researchers, a very eloquent speaker, and a passionate advocate for people with tinnitus. He also runs his own brain research centre and clinic Brai3n. We spoke with Dirk about how the brain can create phantom perceptions like pain and tinnitus, and the different schools of thought in this area. He also highlights the role of epigenetics and e...

Very few commercial drug companies focus on hearing disorders. Even fewer focus on tinnitus. Otonomy does both. In this exclusive interview, we took a deep dive with Otonomy’s executives into their drug pipeline. We spoke to David Weber (PhD), President and CEO, and Alan Foster (PhD), Chief Scientific Officer. They shared their views on what they see as the “renaissance” of hearing research and ho...

A major obstacle to developing better treatments for tinnitus is the lack of a test or measure that can objectively assess whether someone has tinnitus and how severe it is. Making tinnitus measurable allows researchers to more easily assess the effectiveness of new treatments and meet the expectations of regulators in order to get those treatments to market. We spoke with Mehrnaz Shoushtarian (Ph...

The two conditions are eerily similar: visual snow and tinnitus. The patient experience is often one of being misunderstood, and research is in its infancy. What can be done? Two pioneers in this field, patient advocate Sierra Domb and neurologist Dr Peter Goadsby, talk about their incredible experiences in trying to push the envelope for visual snow sufferers. Become a Tinnitus Talk Podcast Patro...

This episode is an opportunity to learn about what’s going on in the brain of someone with tinnitus. Dr Will Sedley explains, in very clear and easy-to-understand terms, his own theory on the mechanisms underlying tinnitus, as well as the main other theories in the field. We also cover topics like: the factors that trigger the onset of tinnitus, whether there are many different causes of tinnitus...

The company we interviewed for this episode, Frequency Therapeutics, is the subject of the most active thread on the Tinnitus Talk forum, with nearly 1 million views. So of course, we wanted to hear from directly! Frequency Therapeutics is working on a new hearing regeneration treatment. Preliminary results suggest the drug might work particularly well to improve speech intelligibility, something...

A drug to quieten your tinnitus. It’s what most people struggling with tinnitus desire. We had the pleasure of interviewing Thanos Tzounopoulos, PhD, director of the Pittsburgh Hearing Research Center, on his work to develop just such a drug. His work builds on the previously somewhat successful off-label tinnitus drug Retigabine. That drug was taken off the market due to severe side effects. Than...

This episode is quite different than what we’ve done before. You’ll hear from four people with tinnitus about how the current situation, being quarantined, has affected their lives and their tinnitus. One of these people was infected with the Coronavirus and describes how it affected his entire family and impacted his tinnitus. We also spoke with a researcher, Raj Shekhawat, about how the crisis h...

Tinnitus Talk spoke with the Hough Ear Institute , a non-profit research organization that focusses on restoring hearing. They are working on two hearing regeneration treatments that could very well have benefits for tinnitus sufferers. In this episode, we spoke with Dr. Richard Kopke and Justin DeMoss. They explain the mechanisms behind their treatments and how hearing restoration can be achieved...

Tinnitus Talk spoke with Bryan Pollard, the president of Hyperacusis Research Limited , based in Boston. Bryan himself suffers from hyperacusis, which he believes is due to sound exposure from a loud woodchipper several years ago. In this episode, Bryan talks about his personal experience with hyperacusis, and how this drove him to start Hyperacusis Research to raise funds for scientific research....

It’s been the talk of the town on the Tinnitus Talk forum for the past few months: the launch of Neuromod’s Lenire treatment for tinnitus. We got a chance to sit down with their CEO Dr. Ross O’Neill and ask him everything (well, nearly) you want to know about this device. It’s an extra-long episode, because so many questions were raised on our forum about Lenire – the thread has been viewed over h...

What is the current state of evidence in favour or against tinnitus treatments on the market? Which treatments have been thoroughly tested and which require more testing? What should doctors and patients learn from this? And how should this inform new tinnitus research? These are all questions answered in this episode! Tinnitus Talk spoke with Rilana Cima and Derek Hoare, two of the co-authors of...

What are stem cells and how can stem cells treat hearing loss? What’s going on with human trials for hearing regeneration? When can we expected new treatments on the market? And will regenerating hearing resolve tinnitus? These kinds of questions will be answered in this podcast! Tinnitus Talk spoke with Marcelo Rivolta, professor of Sensory Stem Cell Biology at the University of Sheffield. He exp...

How can clinicians and patients work together? Why is tinnitus sub-typing important? Does loudness matter? What does habituation really mean? What different forms of counselling and treatment are available for tinnitus? These are some of the questions addressed in this episode. Tinnitus Talk spoke with Richard Tyler, from the University of Iowa. His career in tinnitus spans many decades. He has va...

How do musicians deal with the fact that they are especially prone to getting tinnitus? Is there enough awareness on this? These are some of the questions addressed in this episode.  Tinnitus Talk spoke with CJ Wildheart, professional rock musician with tinnitus, and guitarist for The Wildhearts. He talks candidly about how live and loud playing for many years caused his tinnitus, how this ha...

Tinnitus Talk spoke with David Stockdale, the chief executive of the British Tinnitus Association (BTA). We’re very excited to have David on for episode 2 of our podcast series! David frequently visits TinnitusTalk.com and engages with the tinnitus community through us and other channels. His dedication and drive to represent the needs of the community clearly shines through in this interview. Dav...

Tinnitus Talk spoke with Dr. Rauschecker, one of most eminent researchers on tinnitus. We’re excited to launch our podcast series with this highly engaging interview, a must for anyone who wants to understand how tinnitus works in the brain and how we can get to a cure. The interview covers a range of topics, from Dr. Rauschecker’s own experience with tinnitus to his theories on how tinnitus manif...