Most of us have had some sort of noise in our ears from time to time. It could be a high pitched tone or buzzing – but some people experience this type of noise each and every moment of their day.
According to the American Tinnitus Association, tinnitus affects 50 million people in the United States and 12 million of them experience sound so bothersome 
that it’s disabling. The BBC reports that around 1% to 3% of people in the United Kingdom also have tinnitus that is “significant enough to reduce their overall quality of life.”
Tinnitus strikes any age group, any walk of life, but some lifestyles contribute a higher risk to developing it than others. Professions that involve loud sounds, even music, are among them. Famous musicians who have talked about their tinnitus include Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, Al Di Meola, Liberty DeVitto, Pete Townsend, Eric Clapton, and Phil Collins (Metallica’s Lars Ulrich Lives with Tinnitus).
Right now, there is no treatment for tinnitus and researchers are working to find what causes it. However, according to a new study, published in the most recent issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, music may help some people with the problem.
Thirty-nine patients with chronic tinnitus were divided into three groups. One group listened to modified music therapy, which involves their listening to their favorite music with certain notes removed. These notes matched the tones of the sounds they heard as a result of the tinnitus. The subjects in the other two groups either listened to a dummy version of music therapy or received usual treatment.
The subjects who listened to the modified or dummy music, listened for an average of 12 hours per week for the length of the study (one year). The results showed that those who listened to the modified music reported that they had a significant improvement, drop, in the ringing in their ears than those who listened to the dummy music.
This was a small study and just a start, but if the results can be reproduced, this could be a boon to the many people who experience the annoying and sometimes debilitating problem.
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Image: iStock.com
Post from: Blisstree