Modulation of tinnitus by voluntary jaw movements

Objective: The authors describe symptoms and population characteristics in patients with tinnitus who report the ability to control the loudness of th eir tinnitus by performing voluntary movements. Design: The authors used a questionnaire. Setting: The study was conducted at a tertiary care center. Patients: Respondents have the self-reported ability to control the loudnes s of their tinnitus by performing voluntary movements. Results: The authors describe symptoms and population characteristics in 93 patients with tinnitus (83% men, 17% women) who report the ability to cont rol the loudness of their tinnitus by performing voluntary movements: 85% o f these report jaw movements and 9% report eye movements affect their tinni tus. In the jaw-movement group, tinnitus loudness increased in 90%. Jaw mov ement affected the pitch in. 51% With an increase in pitch reported by 90%. Other maneuvers, such as pressure applied to the head, affected tinnitus i n many subjects. Tinnitus had a major impact on the lives of the authors' r espondents: 27% registered mild to moderate depression and 8% moderate to s evere depression as shown by the Beck Depression Inventory. Conclusions: The ability to modulate tinnitus by performing voluntary somat osensory or motor acts is likely the result of plastic changes in the brain s of these patients with the development of aberrant connections between th e auditory and sensory-motor systems. The strong predominance of men in the sample suggests the presence of a gender-specific factor that mediates the se changes.