Reversing Synchronized Brain Circuits With Targeted Auditory-Somatosensory Stimulation to Treat Phantom Percepts

University of Michigan100 enrolled

Overview

The goal of the study is to reduce tinnitus (ringing in the ear) loudness and improve the quality of life for those that are affected by tinnitus. This study will enroll subjects who have constant and bothersome tinnitus with no greater than a mild hearing loss up to 6 kHz, and no greater than a moderate hearing loss in the tinnitus frequencies. Subjects must also have the ability to alter the loudness or pitch of the ringing in their ears by performing a head, neck, face, or upper body movement. Subjects will be given both the treatment and sham arms (the study will randomly assign which arm is administered first) and will have a washout period of 6 weeks after each arm. The study will take approximately 36 weeks for subjects to complete and will enroll up to 300 individuals.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

QUADRUPLE

Enrollment

100

Conditions

Tinnitus

Interventions

The auditory stimulus will be individualized based on subject baseline audiogram and tinnitus test results and is presented through a calibrated earphone. Somatosensory stimulation will be delivered by pads positioned on the cheek overlying the trigeminal ganglion or on the neck at overlying cervical nerves, c1 or c2, determined by the manner in which the subject can modulate the tinnitus. For each arm of the study subjects will have daily treatments for 30-60 minutes for 6 weeks.

Sham SCS/Burst-SCSDEVICE

Somatosensory stimulation will be delivered by pads positioned on the cheek overlying the trigeminal ganglion or on the neck at overlying cervical nerves, c1 or c2, determined by the manner in which the subject can modulate the tinnitus. The auditory stimulus will be individualized based on subject baseline audiogram and tinnitus test results and is presented through a calibrated earphone. For each arm of the study subjects will have daily treatments for 30-60 minutes for 6 weeks.

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Must report constant, subjective, preferably unilateral tinnitus without any active external or middle ear pathology. * No greater than a mild hearing loss up to 6 kHz, and no greater than a moderate hearing loss at the tinnitus frequencies. * Must be able to modulate their tinnitus with a somatic maneuver * Preferably onset of tinnitus less than one year ago, but present for at least 6 months. Tinnitus should be bothersome. * Absence of retrocochlear pathology/8th nerve lesion * No participation in a tinnitus treatment regimen within the past six months or participation in the University of Michigan stage 1 clinical trial. Exclusion Criteria: * Diagnosis of Meniere's disease * Diagnosis of Semicircular Canal Dehiscence * Unilateral or bilateral cochlear implant recipients * Diagnosis of acoustic neuroma * Evidence of retrocochlear disease * Certain medications and conditions (will be reviewed at screening)

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Change in Objective Tinnitus Loudness

Change in Tinnitus by the TinnTester software. Participants are guided through a self-directed computerized assessment software that estimates how loud (in decibels) they perceive their tinnitus to be (TinnTester). These will be collected weekly during each treatment arm and washout. Absolute differences are averaged relative to baseline to determine loudness change. For each of the two arms, Active Then Sham and Sham Then Active, data is presented at the end of each arm phase group, in six week intervals. Thus Active First below is at 6 weeks after baseline, Washout is at 12 weeks, Active First then Sham at 18, and Active First then Sham Washout at 24 and the same pattern for the Sham First group.

Time frame: Up to 24 weeks

Change in Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI)

TFI is a clinical questionnaire that assesses tinnitus impact on a participant's quality of life. It uses a scale of 0 - 100 where 0 means no negative impact on quality of life from tinnitus and 100 is devastating impact. These will be collected weekly during each treatment arm and washout. For each of the two arms, Active Then Sham and Sham Then Active, data is presented at the end of each arm phase group, in six week intervals. Thus Active First below is at 6 weeks after baseline, Washout is at 12 weeks, Active First then Sham at 18, and Active First then Sham Washout at 24 and PSM 36 weeks, and the same pattern for the Sham First group. Values presented are all shown as change from baseline.

Time frame: Up to 36 weeks

Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI)

A 25 item questionnaire which assesses subjective impacts of tinnitus related to quality of life on a 100 point numeric scale. Scores 17 points or higher are considered bothersome tinnitus. The higher scores reflecting greater self-perceived tinnitus handicap. These will be collected weekly during each treatment arm and washout. For each of the two arms, Active Then Sham and Sham Then Active, data is presented at the end of each arm phase group, in six week intervals. Thus Active First below is at 6 weeks after baseline, Washout is at 12 weeks, Active First then Sham at 18, and Active First then Sham Washout at 24 and the same pattern for the Sham First group. Values presented are all shown as change from baseline.

Time frame: Up to 24 weeks

Secondary Outcomes

Change in Tinnitus Bandwidth/Spectrum (TinnTester Interactive Software)

Participants are guided through a self-directed computerized assessment software that estimates how similar their tinnitus is to a set of select sounds rated on a 0 - 100 scale where 0 is not similar \& 100 is identical. Treatment will relate outcomes to tinnitus bandwidth by these measurements and determine whether the treatment alters bandwidth. For each of the two arms, Active Then Sham and Sham Then Active, data is presented at the end of each arm phase group, in six week intervals. Thus Active First below is at 6 weeks after baseline, Washout is at 12 weeks, Active First then Sham at 18, and Active First then Sham Washout at 24 and the same pattern for the Sham First group. Values presented are all shown as change from baseline.

Time frame: Up to 24 weeks

Changes in Minimum Masking Level (MML)

Determine if the MML for a high-pass 2kHz broadband noise is change in the active treatment arm. For each of the two arms, Active Then Sham and Sham Then Active, data is presented at the end of each arm phase group, in six week intervals. Thus Active First below is at 6 weeks after baseline, Washout is at 12 weeks, Active First then Sham at 18, and Active First then Sham Washout at 24 and the same pattern for the Sham First group. Values presented are all shown as change from baseline.

Time frame: Up to 24 weeks

Tinnitus Hearing Survey

This is a 10-question survey with a scale from 0 to 4 to determine if active treatment has an effect or interaction with perceived handicap due to hearing loss and sound level tolerance. Categories are comprised of tinnitus, hearing, and sound tolerance. An answer of 0 is no/not a problem, and an answer of 4 is yes/a very big problem. The range for the total score is 0 - 40 with lower numbers meaning fewer hearing problems and higher numbers meaning more tinnitus, or hearing or sound tolerance problems. For each of the two arms, Active Then Sham and Sham Then Active, data is presented at the end of each arm phase group, in six week intervals. Thus Active First below is at 6 weeks after baseline, Washout is at 12 weeks, Active First then Sham at 18, and Active First then Sham Washout at 24 and the same pattern for the Sham First group.

Time frame: Up to 24 weeks

Reversing Synchronized Brain Circuits With Targeted Auditory-Somatosensory Stimulation to Treat Phantom Percepts

Overview

Conditions

Interventions

Eligibility

Locations (1)

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes