I have read that many theories are that tinnitus is due to hyperactivity of brain cells. This hyperactivity may be due to the lack of stimulation due to hearing loss which causes the auditory nerve cells to start compensating by generating its own activity.
As I thought about this idea that the nerve cells are hyperactive, it made me think that perhaps this condition is similar to chronic pain or pain that remains after an injury heals. The injury alters the body leaving enduring impacts and changes despite the removal of the original source of injury. I went to the internet and searched for tinnitus and chronic pain. Sure enough I came upon some relevant articles.
This very interesting article Tinnitus and Chronic Pain Share a Common Brain Dysfunction on MentalFloss.com includes comments from Josef Rauschecker, director of the Laboratory for Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition at Georgetown, who conducted research on Tinnitus and similarities with Chronic Pain.
I included a great video of Josef Rauschecker’s Ted Talk in a 2017 post.
These studies are really helping me fine tune my own understanding of what is happening which helps me design my own exercises and choices as I journey along my path to a cure. Tinnitus is certainly not a simple issue, but Rauschecker’s and other’s work helps take out the mystery and make sense of this phantom noise in my head.
I will cure myself…I have no doubt.