6 - Technique can pinpoint tinnitus

"BBC NEWS | Health | Technique can pinpoint tinnitus." BBC NEWS | News Front Page. 3 Oct. 2009. Web. 04 Oct. 2009. .

Tinnitus is a medical issue in which a person is said to hear sounds in one or both ears even though there is no external source providing the said sound. Many times patients describe the noise as a constant ringing or buzzing in the ear. It was originally thought that Tinnitus was an issue that stemmed from the patient's ears, but in fact is has now been found that the issue originates within the patients brain. United States researchers at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit have been running many MEG (magnetoencephalography) scans which map electrical neuronal stimulation within the brain.

The doctors ran MEG scans on 27 patients, 1o without Tinnitus and 17 with Tinnitus. They played sounds until the patient agreed that they were hearing a noise. At this point they would scan the patients brain by means of a MEG scan. In patient who had Tinnitus in one ear they determined that the greatest amount of neuronal activity was found in the auditory cortex of the opposite lobe of the brain. In patients who experienced the noise in both ears they, saw neuronal activity in both lobes of the brain, but more so on the opposite side of the ear in which the patient experienced a greater amount of Tinnitus.