Posted on 03/22/2017 2:13:22 PM PDT by Red Badger
Photo of MDMA courtesy of Wikipedia Commons
Researchers in New Zealand have started trials to see whether MDMA can treat tinnitus, a condition that causes people to hear irritating sound no one else can hear. The undertaking has taken place over the last two years, and involved a small number of participants who were given a very low dose of MDMA or a placebo and monitored over a four-hour period, reports Stuff.
Many of the participants who took the MDMA reported a partial alleviation of tinnitus after three hours, but there was also a large placebo effect among the participants. The researchers administered doses of 30 mg or 70 mg of the drug over two separate trials, which are both doses lower than needed to induce feelings of euphoria.
"Our goal is to try and find a medication for tinnitus. It can have catastrophic effects," University of Auckland professor Grant Searchfield said. "Whether MDMA is it or whether it's a trial for us to identify what is going on in the brain is still an open question."
50 million people currently suffer from tinnitus in the United States, and there is no definitive cure for most causes of the condition. There are tools and treatments to help patients manage their tinnitus though, by reducing its emotional, cognitive, and attention-related impact.
Currently, the researchers are analyzing brain imaging from the trials in order to determine how they should proceed. It would be necessary for them to secure more funding in order to proceed.
The endeavor is a joint study between the University of Auckland and the University of Otago, and the researchers said they were motivated to begin the study by independent reports from people saying that MDMA helped their tinnitus.
In the past several years, studies have found that taking MDMA or ecstasy directly increases your stress levels, and that MDMA is more dangerous for women than for men. Clinical trials in 2013 showed that there is a potential for MDMA to treat PTSD, and Stanford Scientists called for an in-depth exploration of its effects last year.
“Have you tried a white noise generator?”
I have and surprisingly it didn’t help much.
When I was driving T/T long haul I pulled a reefer (refrigerated trailer) for about 12 years and found it hard to sleep without hearing the reefer running while at home.
It’s probably psychological but the whining now blots out anything.
I’m at the point that I have to look at someone’s mouth when they talk to make sure I understand them.
I can see subtitles on tv and movies in my future.
Kind of ironic because both of my fathers parents were deaf.
My hearing was great until the tinnitus started up in my late forties.
Good luck ...
I totally agree with you on that. Look at all the scientific advancements we've seen in our own short lives.
I remember my grandfather once marveling at the great advances he'd witnessed in his own life. He was born at the onset of the automobile era, when most Americans still owned a horse and buggy.
He lived to see men walk on the moon, and the advent of hand held calculators and personal computers. In his mind, he'd lived through the greatest era of technological advancement in history. I found it hard to disagree with him, but I must say, our era isn't exactly standing still.
We're going to see some pretty amazing technologies emerge before our time has passed.
Look no further than our own government for the cause of that.
The gay mafia diverted all research funding into AIDS. All other diseases have taken second place for a long time.
If I start thinking about it, I hear all sorts of sounds in
my ears. They don’t really bother me that much. We’re all
spoiled to thinking that life must be PERFECTION. It is not.
Be glad it isn’t something really serious. I’m just glad I
can HEAR at all. I’m sure I’d hear the “Taos Hum” if I
lived out there, because I hear the fluorescent light hum
in the kitchen that Fang ignores & does not hear.
Replace the Fluorescent lights with LEDs................silence...................
I’ve been taking biotin and it seems to help a
little. Never heard a thing until about 5 years ago.
Now it ranges from a tone to crickets sometimes
very loud. For me it’s summertime jarflies all
the time.
I was a jet mechanic in Nam but no service connection
for my hearing,I also worked in industry for many years.
I take 5000 mcg once a day, sometimes more.
Seems to help but even then it flares up from time
to time.
Good luck and thanks for your service.
Same here. I was told by the ear Dr. that this is called "pulsatile tinnitus", and it's there 24x7x365. Irritating.
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