METHODS, SYSTEMS, AND DEVICES FOR TREATING TINNITUS WITH VNS PAIRING
A method of treating tinnitus comprising measuring a patient's hearing, determining the patient's hearing loss and the patient's tinnitus frequency using the measurements of the patient's hearing, programming a clinical controller with the measurements of the patient's hearing, selecting a plurality of therapeutic tones, where the therapeutic tones are selected to be at least a half-octave above or below of the patient's tinnitus frequency, setting an appropriate volume for each of the plurality of tones, repetitively playing each of the plurality of therapeutic tones, and pairing a vagus nerve stimulation pulse train with each playing of a therapeutic tone, thereby reducing the patient's perception of tinnitus.
1 . A method, comprising:
treating tinnitus via:
applying vagus nerve stimulation and sound therapy to a patient, thereby redistributing frequencies along an auditory tonotopic axis of the patient at which neurons of the patient's auditory cortex respond, thus changing the responsiveness of at least some neurons and treating tinnitus.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the sound therapy includes presenting sounds to the patient at frequencies other than a tinnitus frequency of the patient.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the sound therapy includes presenting sounds to the patient at frequencies at least a half-octave above or below the patient's tinnitus frequency.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the sound therapy includes presenting sounds to the patient at frequencies at least a half-octave above the patient's tinnitus frequency.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the sound therapy includes presenting sounds to the patient at frequencies at least a half-below the patient's tinnitus frequency.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the application of vagus nerve stimulation and sound therapy to a patient generate plasticity in the portion of the nerve system such that it remaps the portion of the nerve system, thereby treating the tinnitus.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the application of vagus nerve stimulation and sound therapy to the patient shrinks the representation of the tinnitus frequency and restores a map and synchronous activity of the patient, thereby treating the tinnitus.
8 . A method, comprising:
treating tinnitus via the actions of:
applying vagus nerve stimulation and sound therapy to a patient, wherein the sound therapy includes presenting sounds to the patient at one or o frequencies other than a tinnitus frequency of the patient.
9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein:
the applied sound therapy entails playing tones within a range of 170 Hz to 16 kHz.
10 . The method of claim 8 , wherein:
the applied sound therapy entails playing tones that are pure sine waves.
11 . The method of claim 8 , wherein:
the applied sound therapy entails playing sounds at 80 dB or less.
12 . The method of claim 8 , wherein:
the application of the vagus nerve stimulation and sound therapy to the patient results in a decrease in an area of a brain of the patient responding to a tinnitus frequency, thereby treating the tinnitus.
13 . The method of claim 8 , wherein:
the application of the vagus nerve stimulation and sound therapy to the patient results in a decrease in a synchronous firing of neurons of the patient, thereby treating the tinnitus.
14 . The method of claim 8 , wherein:
the applied sensory therapy entails playing discrete tones paired with vagus nerve stimulation pules at intervals greater than 8 seconds apart.
15 . A method, comprising:
remapping a portion of a nerve system of a patient via the actions of applying vagus nerve stimulation and a sensory therapy to a patient, thereby generating plasticity in the portion of the nerve system such that remaps the portion of the nerve system.
16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein:
the applied sensory therapy entails playing discrete tones paired with vagus nerve stimulation pulses at 30 second intervals.
17 . The method of claim 15 , wherein:
the applied sensory therapy entails playing discrete tones paired with vagus nerve stimulation pulses at random intervals.
18 . The method of claim 15 , wherein:
the applied sensory therapy entails playing discrete tones paired with vagus nerve stimulation pulses at intervals greater than 8 seconds apart.
19 . The method of claim 15 , wherein:
the application of vagus nerve stimulation and sound therapy to the patent shrinks the representation of the tinnitus frequency and restores a map and synchronous activity of the patient, thereby treating the tinnitus.
20 . The method of claim 15 , wherein:
the sound therapy applied to the patent entails playing tones that surround a tinnitus frequency of the patient.
21 . The method of claim 15 , wherein:
the sound therapy applied to the patent entails playing tones that exclude a tinnitus frequency of the patient.
23 . A method, comprising:
treating tinnitus via the actions of
applying vagus nerve stimulation and sound therapy to a patient, thereby shrinking the representation of the tinnitus frequency and restoring a map and synchronous activity of the patient.
24 . The method of claim 23 , wherein:
applying vagus nerve stimulation and sound therapy results in an increase in a number of neurons of the patient responding to a frequency of sound applied in the sound therapy.
25 . The method of claim 23 , wherein:
applying vagus nerve stimulation and sound therapy results in an increase in a number of neurons of the patient responding to a first frequency of sound applied in the sound therapy and other frequencies other than the first frequency.
26 . The method of claim 23 , wherein:
applying vagus nerve stimulation and sound therapy results in an increase in a number of neurons of the patient responding to a frequency of a tone applied in the sound therapy.
27 . The method of claim 23 , wherein:
applying vagus nerve stimulation and sound therapy results in an increase in a number of neurons of the patient responding to a first frequency of a tone applied in the sound therapy and other frequencies other than the first frequency.
28 . The method of claim 23 , wherein:
The application of vagus nerve stimulation and sound therapy results in no change in heart rate of the patient.
29 . The method of claim 23 , wherein:
the application of vagus nerve stimulation and sound therapy results in no change in blood oxygen saturation of the patient.
30 . The method of claim 23 , wherein:
the sound therapy entails playing a plurality of tones, wherein respective therapeutic tones of the plurality of therapeutic tones are effectively outside the range of the patient's tinnitus frequency.