Combining transcranial direct current stimulation and tailor-made notched music training to decrease tinnitus-related distress--a pilot study.

The central auditory system has a crucial role in tinnitus generation and maintenance. Curative treatments for tinnitus do not yet exist. However, recent attempts in the therapeutic application of both acoustic stimulation/training procedures and electric/magnetic brain stimulation techniques have y...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Henning Teismann, Andreas Wollbrink, Hidehiko Okamoto, Gottfried Schlaug, Claudia Rudack, Christo Pantev
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2014-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0089904&type=printable
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850189911321214976
author Henning Teismann
Andreas Wollbrink
Hidehiko Okamoto
Gottfried Schlaug
Claudia Rudack
Christo Pantev
author_facet Henning Teismann
Andreas Wollbrink
Hidehiko Okamoto
Gottfried Schlaug
Claudia Rudack
Christo Pantev
author_sort Henning Teismann
collection DOAJ
description The central auditory system has a crucial role in tinnitus generation and maintenance. Curative treatments for tinnitus do not yet exist. However, recent attempts in the therapeutic application of both acoustic stimulation/training procedures and electric/magnetic brain stimulation techniques have yielded promising results. Here, for the first time we combined tailor-made notched music training (TMNMT) with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in an effort to modulate TMNMT efficacy in the treatment of 32 patients with tonal tinnitus and without severe hearing loss. TMNMT is characterized by regular listening to so-called notched music, which is generated by digitally removing the frequency band of one octave width centered at the individual tinnitus frequency. TMNMT was applied for 10 subsequent days (2.5 hours of daily treatment). During the initial 5 days of treatment and the initial 30 minutes of TMNMT sessions, tDCS (current strength: 2 mA; anodal (N = 10) vs. cathodal (N = 11) vs. sham (N = 11) groups) was applied simultaneously. The active electrode was placed on the head surface over left auditory cortex; the reference electrode was put over right supra-orbital cortex. To evaluate treatment outcome, tinnitus-related distress and perceived tinnitus loudness were assessed using standardized tinnitus questionnaires and a visual analogue scale. The results showed a significant treatment effect reflected in the Tinnitus Handicap Questionnaire that was largest after 5 days of treatment. This effect remained significant at the end of follow-up 31 days after treatment cessation. Crucially, tDCS did not significantly modulate treatment efficacy--it did not make a difference whether anodal, cathodal, or sham tDCS was applied. Possible explanations for the findings and functional modifications of the experimental design for future studies (e.g. the selection of control conditions) are discussed.
format Article
id doaj-art-be2b2cdda0b24b1b90730373456bf976
institution OA Journals
issn 1932-6203
language English
publishDate 2014-01-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLoS ONE
spelling doaj-art-be2b2cdda0b24b1b90730373456bf9762025-08-20T02:15:28ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032014-01-0192e8990410.1371/journal.pone.0089904Combining transcranial direct current stimulation and tailor-made notched music training to decrease tinnitus-related distress--a pilot study.Henning TeismannAndreas WollbrinkHidehiko OkamotoGottfried SchlaugClaudia RudackChristo PantevThe central auditory system has a crucial role in tinnitus generation and maintenance. Curative treatments for tinnitus do not yet exist. However, recent attempts in the therapeutic application of both acoustic stimulation/training procedures and electric/magnetic brain stimulation techniques have yielded promising results. Here, for the first time we combined tailor-made notched music training (TMNMT) with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in an effort to modulate TMNMT efficacy in the treatment of 32 patients with tonal tinnitus and without severe hearing loss. TMNMT is characterized by regular listening to so-called notched music, which is generated by digitally removing the frequency band of one octave width centered at the individual tinnitus frequency. TMNMT was applied for 10 subsequent days (2.5 hours of daily treatment). During the initial 5 days of treatment and the initial 30 minutes of TMNMT sessions, tDCS (current strength: 2 mA; anodal (N = 10) vs. cathodal (N = 11) vs. sham (N = 11) groups) was applied simultaneously. The active electrode was placed on the head surface over left auditory cortex; the reference electrode was put over right supra-orbital cortex. To evaluate treatment outcome, tinnitus-related distress and perceived tinnitus loudness were assessed using standardized tinnitus questionnaires and a visual analogue scale. The results showed a significant treatment effect reflected in the Tinnitus Handicap Questionnaire that was largest after 5 days of treatment. This effect remained significant at the end of follow-up 31 days after treatment cessation. Crucially, tDCS did not significantly modulate treatment efficacy--it did not make a difference whether anodal, cathodal, or sham tDCS was applied. Possible explanations for the findings and functional modifications of the experimental design for future studies (e.g. the selection of control conditions) are discussed.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0089904&type=printable
spellingShingle Henning Teismann
Andreas Wollbrink
Hidehiko Okamoto
Gottfried Schlaug
Claudia Rudack
Christo Pantev
Combining transcranial direct current stimulation and tailor-made notched music training to decrease tinnitus-related distress--a pilot study.
PLoS ONE
title Combining transcranial direct current stimulation and tailor-made notched music training to decrease tinnitus-related distress--a pilot study.
title_full Combining transcranial direct current stimulation and tailor-made notched music training to decrease tinnitus-related distress--a pilot study.
title_fullStr Combining transcranial direct current stimulation and tailor-made notched music training to decrease tinnitus-related distress--a pilot study.
title_full_unstemmed Combining transcranial direct current stimulation and tailor-made notched music training to decrease tinnitus-related distress--a pilot study.
title_short Combining transcranial direct current stimulation and tailor-made notched music training to decrease tinnitus-related distress--a pilot study.
title_sort combining transcranial direct current stimulation and tailor made notched music training to decrease tinnitus related distress a pilot study
url https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0089904&type=printable
work_keys_str_mv AT henningteismann combiningtranscranialdirectcurrentstimulationandtailormadenotchedmusictrainingtodecreasetinnitusrelateddistressapilotstudy
AT andreaswollbrink combiningtranscranialdirectcurrentstimulationandtailormadenotchedmusictrainingtodecreasetinnitusrelateddistressapilotstudy
AT hidehikookamoto combiningtranscranialdirectcurrentstimulationandtailormadenotchedmusictrainingtodecreasetinnitusrelateddistressapilotstudy
AT gottfriedschlaug combiningtranscranialdirectcurrentstimulationandtailormadenotchedmusictrainingtodecreasetinnitusrelateddistressapilotstudy
AT claudiarudack combiningtranscranialdirectcurrentstimulationandtailormadenotchedmusictrainingtodecreasetinnitusrelateddistressapilotstudy
AT christopantev combiningtranscranialdirectcurrentstimulationandtailormadenotchedmusictrainingtodecreasetinnitusrelateddistressapilotstudy