Cochlear implant in tinnitus management

Abstract

Purpose of reviewTo evaluate whether cochlear implantation can mitigate tinnitus perception and its discomfort among patients with severe-to-profound hearing loss, in order to provide an answer on a possible treatment for a health condition with high prevalence and impact on quality of life. Recent findingsTinnitus can develop after peripheral hearing loss and is associated with altered auditory processing. It does not only involve auditory structures but also aberrant neural activity and interaction with other regions of the Central Nervous System associated with emotion, attention, anguish, memory and motor activity. SummaryRecent studies investigated the changes in tinnitus perception among patients who underwent cochlear implantation and demonstrated a postoperative decrease. Hence, patients with severe-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss and tinnitus are likely to benefit from cochlear implantation.

Electrical Ear Canal Stimulation as a Therapeutic Approach for Tinnitus—A Proof of Concept Study

“…Therapeutic approaches using electrical stimulation of the cochlea to reduce tinnitus perception have been developed since the 1970s [9,10]. In addition, numerous studies that have analyzed the effects of cochlear implants (CI) on tinnitus have found them effective in reducing tinnitus loudness [11][12][13][14]. However, despite the evidence that CI can reduce tinnitus, it is unclear whether the reduction is achieved by counteracting peripheral deafferentation [15], electrical stimulation via an implanted electrode [16], or by the interaction of both.…”