In this project, Linus Milinski in Professor Victoria Bajo Lorenzana’s laboratory at the University of Oxford, aims to understand the link between tinnitus and sleep.
Project start date: October 2018
Project end date: December 2021
About the project
In most cases, tinnitus is created by the brain; it is also linked to age-related hearing loss or damage to the ear. It is thought that, after the ear becomes damaged, certain areas of the brain which usually process sound information, become persistently active, and that this leads to the sensation of tinnitus. But we do not know precisely what happens in the brain as tinnitus develops and progresses.
We also know very little about the link between tinnitus and sleep. Our brain activity is very different when we are awake and when we are asleep. In people with tinnitus, we don’t know how brain activity caused by tinnitus is affected depending on whether they are awake or asleep. Although tinnitus is only ‘heard’ when a person is awake, sleep disruption is common in people with tinnitus.
The main aim of this project is to understand the link between brain activity and tinnitus during waking and sleep, and how brain activity changes as tinnitus develops. The researchers will also look at whether sleep is affected by tinnitus, and whether poor sleep makes tinnitus worse.
How it works
Linus will measure brain activity in an animal model, both day and night, for several months before, during and after the development of tinnitus, which will be induced by exposure to loud noise.
Linus will take long-term recordings of brain activity to investigate whether being awake or asleep in the hours before and after tinnitus is induced affects the development of abnormal changes linked to tinnitus in the brain. He will also look at whether this is linked to how severe the tinnitus is, and whether sleep might play a protective role.
What have we learned so far?
This project has helped researchers better understand the relationship between tinnitus and sleep. The team found that tinnitus and sleep appear to affect each other: tinnitus was linked with disrupted and reduced sleep, while some tinnitus-related brain activity was lower during sleep. This suggests that sleep may temporarily dampen tinnitus-related activity in the brain but could also play a role in how tinnitus develops after noise exposure.
The findings open up a new way to explore why tinnitus is often linked with poor sleep and point to sleep and natural changes in brain activity as promising areas for future tinnitus research. More work is needed before this could lead to new treatments.
About the researcher
Linus Milinski completed his PhD in Professor Victoria Bajo Lorenzana’s laboratory at the University of Oxford. His PhD studentship began in October 2018.