Torment of tinnitus eased in four weeks of treatment

SCIENTISTS have found a way to alleviate the misery of tinnitus after just four weeks.

Around five million Britons are believed to have the distressing condition which causes phantom sounds such as buzzing and whistling in the ears.

However researchers have found a way to ‘reset’ the brain cells which, in a study of 20 people, eliminated tinnitus in two and made it less harsh and easier to ignore for another 11.

The treatment consists of four weeks of sounds matched to individuals’ tinnitus, listened to in daily half- hour sessions through headphones, while getting simultaneous mild electric shocks to the cheek or neck.

It appears to stop signals sent out by misfiring brain cells which make sufferers believe they can hear sounds, without an actual sound in the environment.

Dr Susan Shore, who led the research from the University of Michigan, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, said: ‘If we can stop these signals, we can stop tinnitus. We’re encouraged by these initial parallel results in animals and humans.’