Neurofeedback training as a therapy for tinnitus

Background and objective: Biofeedback is known as a possibility to control physiologic processes like body temperature or heart frequency. Neurofeedba ck is a form of biofeedback linked to aspects of the electrical activity of the brain such as frequency, location or amplitude of specific EEG activit y. It has been successfully used in patients with closed head injury, hyper activity disorder or epilepsy. Patients/methods: In this study 40 patients with tinnitus were treated with neurofeedback. They trained to upregulate the amplitude of their alpha -ac tivity and downregulate the amplitude of beta -activity during muscle relax ation and acoustic orientation on sounds or music in order to suppress thei r tinnitus. Results: After 15 sessions of training 24 patients with a duration of their tinnitus for an average of 1 year showed significant increase of alpha -am plitudes while 16 patients with duration of their tinnitus on an average of 7 years showed a decrease of beta -amplitudes without any change in alpha -activity. After the training all patients had a significant reduction of t he score in the tinnitusquestionaire of Gobel and Hiller. In a control-grou p of 15 persons without tinnitus we didn't see any changes of alpha- or bet a -amplitudes during the same training. Conclusions: In conclusion neurofeedback is a new therapy for patients with tinnitus. Patients get the possibility of selfcontrol and therefore of inf luence on their disease.