This is a Discovery Research Grant awarded to Dr Emilie Cardon at the University of Antwerp. It started in September 2025.
Background
Tinnitus, often described as a ringing or buzzing in the ears, affects around 1 in 7 adults worldwide. It can have a significant impact on someone’s quality of life, causing distress and difficulty in concentrating or sleeping.
Unfortunately, there is no universally effective treatment that can silence tinnitus permanently, but researchers are exploring new ways of treating this condition. One promising method is called transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a technique that uses a mild electrical current to stimulate specific areas of the brain.
Although tDCS has shown potential in previous studies, the results have been inconsistent. People respond differently to the treatment, and it can be challenging to predict who will benefit from it. This makes it difficult to obtain reliable results and fully understand how tDCS works. Additionally, past research has mainly focused on whether tDCS reduces tinnitus symptoms, without looking at how it changes brain activity.
Aim
The researchers will focus on using tDCS to help people with tinnitus. Specifically, they aim to target a part of the brain called the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. This area is involved in managing our responses to various stimuli and emotions, including the distress caused by tinnitus. By stimulating this brain region, they hope to reduce the severity of tinnitus symptoms.
In this study, the researchers will take a personalised approach to tDCS. Instead of using the same settings for everyone, they will tailor the treatment to each volunteer, adjusting it according to their specific brain structure. They will also measure how tDCS affects brain activity by measuring specific signals in the brain called cortical auditory evoked potentials. These measurements will help the researchers to see how the brain responds to sounds, providing an objective measure of how tDCS influences brain function.
Benefit
If successful, this research could lead to a more effective treatment for tinnitus by providing a personalised therapy that considers individual differences in brain structure. By understanding how tDCS affects brain activity, the researchers can improve its use and increase the likelihood of successful treatment outcomes. This could significantly improve quality of life for people with tinnitus, reducing their symptoms and helping them manage the condition more effectively.