En nevrofysiologisk tilnærming til tinnitus : teorien bak og behandlingsprinsippene som følger

Abstract

The patogenesis of tinnitus has remained unknown despite a prevalence as high as 10-15% of the population. In 1990, Pavel Jastreboff presented a hypothesis that even though the tinnitus signal is generated in the chochlea and then amplified in subcortical centres, it´s the following processes - perception, psychological evaluation and classification - that generates the pathological perception of tinnitus. Based on this hypothesis he released a new type of treatment, Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT), that consists of individual conversational therapy and sound therapy. The aim of the therapy is to change the neurological mechanisms responsible of transferring the signal within the brain, so that the patient subsequently will be able to habituate to the tinnitus signal despite it´s constant precence. The field has not been a subject of a great amount of research, and the existing articles conserning the treatment are unfortunately quite BIASed. In order to determine the real effect of TRT, the subject will need further research, preferably a randomised controlled trial with a high grade of validity.