The Tinnitus Research initiative Conference in Monaco

ATR supported work was presented alongside the latest findings from research groups from the US, Europe, Japan, South America and Australasia at the Tinnitus Research initiative (TRI) Conference in Monaco in July. The meeting, which over a hundred tinnitus researchers attended, focussed on all aspects of tinnitus research.

The scientific quality of the presentations was very high and covered established and novel research areas. These were presented in 25 dedicated in workshops that covered subject areas at expert level. Additionally, research findings were covered in over 60 poster presentations.�

There were a number of key themes throughout the workshops, which included:

• Somatosensory modulation of tinnitus
• The neurological basis of tinnitus
• Drug therapies for tinnitus
• The parallels of chronic pain with tinnitus
• Monitoring using non-invasive technologies such as MRI
• Use of transcranial magnetic stimulation

In somatosensory tinnitus, certain muscular movements, such as clenching the jaw or contracting neck muscles can change the level of tinnitus. Research into this curious phenomenon has yielded new clues as to how tinnitus is being generated by the interplay between different parts of the nervous system within the brain. The work in this area provides the basis for developing new treatments that do not necessarily involve the ear, or what some hearing scientists refer to as the 'classical auditory pathway'. Professors Richard Levine and Susan Shore from the USA covered this.

The idea that tinnitus involves other parts in the brain was developed by Professor Aage Moller. He showed how changes in the brain following chronic pain could be relevant to understanding tinnitus. A great deal of research effort has already gone into understanding pain. Professor Moller described how this work could be extremely useful in developing drug therapies for tinnitus.

There were also a number of posters reporting the preliminary results of trials with a number of different types of drug. Some positive findings were apparent. However, it was felt that overall results needed to be treated with caution and the studies replicated in larger trials.�

Representatives from pharmaceutical companies also attended the conference and were interested in the current state of our fundamental understanding of tinnitus. The interest of drug companies can be taken as positive sign that certain types of tinnitus may be treatable with medication. This was a further example of the importance of meetings such as this. It provided an excellent opportunity for research scientists, otologists and the pharmaceutical industry to consider how they can best work together to tackle tinnitus.