Tinnitus: Processing of Auditory Phantom Sound
Encyclopedia of Behavioral Neuroscience, (2010)Abstract
Tinnitus is the conscious perception of sound heard in the absence
of any external or internal physical sound source. About 10–15% of
adults experience tinnitus. It is generally initiated by hearing
loss, but most chronic tinnitus is of a central origin. The brain
‘hears’ the sound of the missing frequencies in the ear: a phantom
sensation. Objective measurements in humans and animals suggest that
neural synchrony changes, tonotopic map changes, and increased spontaneous
firing rates in the auditory system are potential neural correlates
of tinnitus in humans. It is likely the result of maladaptive plasticity
of the central auditory system.