1: Otolaryngol Clin North Am. 2003 Apr;36(2):249-66, v-vi.<A
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Pathophysiology of tinnitus.

Moller AR.

Callier Center for Communication Disorders, University of Texas at Dallas,
School of Human Development, 1966 Inwood Road, Dallas, TX 75235, USA.
amoller@utdallas.edu

Tinnitus is not a single entity but a rather diverse group of disorders.
Despite symptoms that indicate the ear is the site of the pathology, there is
strong evidence that most forms of severe tinnitus are caused by functional
changes in the central nervous system. The changes are induced through
expression of neural plasticity, some of which may have been caused initially
by abnormalities in the ear or the auditory nerve. The involvement of the
nonclassical ascending auditory pathway with its subcortical connections to
limbic structures (the amygdala) may explain some of the symptoms of some forms
of tinnitus including hyperacusis and affective disorders, such as phonophobia
and depression, which often accompany severe tinnitus.

Murray Grossan, M.D.
http://www.ent-consult.com
http://www.hydromedonline.com/presentingthehydropulse/