Researchers of Georgetown University stated that a condition wherein the pain in the ears that seems won't go away and the condition of a person's ear ringing nonstop are linked to each other. According to the authors, chronic pain and the tinnitus or ringing in the ears are both the result of changes in the two regions of the brain.
Researchers said, that these two regions of the brain are the nucleus accumbens and the ventromedical preforental cortex. They are both located in front of the brain, and were named as the gatekeepers for sensory stimuli like noise and pain.
Jose Rauschecker, a professor of physiology and biophysics at Georgetown University, lead author of the review, stated that it is a very clever system. He even told the Live Science, that several systems will help people how to cope with those coming information that comes like a flood in every second. The job of these systems is to filter out those signals that are unimportant, while letting other signals pass through.
Rauschecker compared it to living by a train track. Every hour a train pass by, but your brain signals that the noise is not that dangerous, so it doesn't make your mind drive to nuts. But with those who have tinnitus or chronic pain, those signals are able to pass through instead of being ignored. This failure to identify stimuli causes suffering from chronic pain.
With this theory, researchers have made further analyzation by looking at a number of studies of the brain. They found out that, the ventromedical cortex is smaller in those patients who have chronic pain or tinnitus compared to those who don't have. Additional studies said that those who have the same condition had less grey matter in that brain region than others.
Despite of the reviews, there is still much study that needs to be done linking the chronic pain and ringing of the ears. However, if someone is experiencing chronic pain, the best thing to do is to manage the symptoms by making an appointment with a specialist in the pain management.
