Primary and secondary auditory cortex stimulation for intractable tinnitus.

Introduction: Recent research suggests tinnitus is a phantom phenomenon based on hyperactivity of the auditory system, which can be visualized by functional neuroimaging, and transiently modulated by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). We present the results of the first implanted electrodes on the primary and secondary auditory cortex after a successful TMS suppression.

Methods And Materials: Twelve patients underwent an auditory cortex implantation, 10 for unilateral and 2 for bilateral tinnitus, based on >50% suppression applying TMS.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation for tinnitus: influence of tinnitus duration on stimulation parameter choice and maximal tinnitus suppression.

Objective: Tinnitus is a distressing symptom for which few treatments exist. It leads to an important decrease in quality of life in 2 to 3% of the population. Tinnitus is considered a phantom sound, the result of cortical reorganization.

Magnetic and electrical stimulation of the auditory cortex for intractable tinnitus. Case report.

Tinnitus is a distressing symptom that affects up to 15% of the population for whom no satisfactory treatment exists. The authors present a novel surgical approach for the treatment of intractable tinnitus, based on cortical stimulation of the auditory cortex. Tinnitus can be considered an auditory phantom phenomenon similar to deafferentation pain, which is observed in the somatosensory system.