Acoustic Stimulation Paired With Body and Cortical Stimulation for Modulating Tinnitus

Summary

The purpose of the study is to investigate different stimulation parameters for a new noninvasive approach for modulating the brain that could potentially be beneficial for decreasing tinnitus perception. The new approach is called Multimodal Synchronization Therapy (mSync). mSync uses a combination of acoustic stimulation played through headphones and low levels of electrical current delivered via electrodes placed on the surface of different body regions. The timing interval between the acoustic and body stimulation is varied in order to cause different types of changes in the brain. In addition to acoustic and body stimulation, noninvasive cortical stimulation will also be presented as part of mSync to attempt to further modulate or decrease the tinnitus percept. Cortical stimulation will be performed by placing a magnetic coil over a spot on the head and sending a brief magnetic pulse that can travel through the skin and bone to create electrical current inside the head. For this study, different body locations as well as specific timing intervals among acoustic, body, and cortical stimulation will be investigated to identify appropriate parameters that can modulate and potentially decrease tinnitus perception. Different mSync parameters will be investigated across multiple testing sessions (up to 16 weekly sessions) and the tinnitus percept will be closely monitored throughout the study.

Conditions

• Tinnitus

Interventions

DEVICE

noise sound stimulation (Tucker-Davis Technologies)

Band-limited white noise stimulus, comfortable loudness level, presented via headphones or earphones with Tucker-Davis Technologies device.

DEVICE

body electrical stimulation (Digitimer device)

Single pulse electrical stimulation on different body regions, comfortable current level, presented via surface pads or clips with Digitimer device.

DEVICE

transcranial magnetic stimulation (Magstim)

Single pulse magnetic stimulation over frontal cortex, comfortable level at 110% resting motor threshold, presented via magnetic coil with Magstim device.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Minnesota

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Hubert Lim, PhD · University of Minnesota

Study Design

Allocation

NA

Purpose

DEVICE_FEASIBILITY

Masking

NONE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

65 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2015-06-01

Primary Completion

2017-09-13

Completion

2017-09-13

Countries

• United States

Study Locations