Some ENT and specialty clinics around the world are already offering stem cell treatment for Tinnitus. But, is this a treatment you can really consider? Let’s explore.
FDA Approval for Tinnitus Stem Cell Treatment?
First of all, you must know that there are no FDA approved stem cell treatment procedures for Tinnitus or hearing loss. The FDA has approved stem cell therapy treatment for conditions like melanoma, prostate cancer, certain types of lymphoma, receding gums and a few other conditions. But, Tinnitus or hearing loss is not on that list. However, some progress has been made in stem cell treatment of hearing loss.
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For many of you, the lack of an approval from the FDA probably means that you have run into a dead end. But, if that isn’t a deal breaker, read on.
Mesenchymal Stem Cell (MSC) Therapy for Tinnitus and Hearing Loss
Some clinics in Europe and this ENT clinic in Florida are currently offering stem cell treatments for Tinnitus and hearing loss. If you decide to seek stem cell treatment for Tinnitus from these clinics, you will be subject to MSC or Mesenchymal Stem Cell therapy.
So, let’s learn more about MSC.
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MSCs are stem cells that are found in your bone marrow. They release a variety of bioactive elements that aid the repair of injured or degraded tissue in the body. Such bioactive elements include chemokines and cytokines. MSCs also fight against inflammation.
But, what makes MSCs really special is their ability to travel to an injured site in the body. If you have Tinnitus, your cochlea or inner ear structure is most probably damaged. Your inner ear contains more than 25,000 hair like cells. These hair cells move, dance if you will, to sounds that you hear. Their movement is then converted into electric signals that are then conveyed to your brain’s auditory cortex. When many or all of these hair cells are damaged due to loud noise, age or other trauma like damage caused by ototoxic antidepressants, they die. Dead hair cells are unable to transmit auditory signals and your brain gets confused about the lack of usual auditory inputs. So, it invents a phantom noise that you hear all the time, the one you hear as a ringing in your ears.
This is why Tinnitus is often classified as a neurological problem as opposed to a problem with your ears.
Anyways, coming back to MSCs, the purpose of MSC therapy will be to hope that they will travel to your inner ear. Once there, the hope is that they will regenerate dead hair cells and begin to fire off auditory signals. This will in turn reverse any hearing loss and also eliminate or at least reduce the intensity or intrusiveness of Tinnitus.
You can learn more about MSC therapy in general, at this excellent research paper on the subject.
How Effective is MSC Therapy for Tinnitus?
There is no published or verifiable data on the success rate for stem cell treatments for Tinnitus. As mentioned earlier, the effectiveness of MSC therapy will depend on how well the stem cells first reach your inner year. In scientific terms, this is called homing efficiency.
Homing efficiency of MSC therapy depends on several factors, including;
- Quality of cell culture (Freshly harvested stem cells work best)
- Passages available for stem cells to reach your inner ear cochlea
- The age of the donor
- The type of delivery (discussed below)
- Host receptibility
How is MSC delivered to treat Tinnitus?
MSC can be delivered in many ways. Clinics like the ones mentioned above will devise a customized delivery plan based on your age, medical history and various other factors. Typically, MSCs are delivered intravenously or with a local injection. Sometimes, they are both used in combination.
In stem cell treatments for other conditions, stem cells have also been given intra-arterially. When delivered intravenously, MSCs have a tendency to get caught in capillaries, especially in the lungs. This probably explains why this delivery method is often supplemented with local injection deliveries.
Are there risks associated with Mesenchymal stem cell therapy for Tinnitus?
Yes, MSC therapy comes with risk. The largest risk is in the form of Tumorigenesis. What that basically means is that MSC therapy may sometimes lead to the growth of malignant (cancerous) tumors. This happens because stem cells have a tendency to divide rapidly. When the division is rampant, tumors grow and present their own risks.
The incidence data for Tumorigenesis resulting out of stem cell treatment for Tinnitus is not available. Therefore, the probability of this risk is unknown.
MSC therapy has also known to result in fever for a few days after a patient receives therapy, although such conditions typically resolve easily. MSC therapy recipients are also at higher risk of contracting infectious diseases, post therapy, for a few weeks.
How long will it take for stem cell therapy to provide relief from Tinnitus?
Generally, patients will have to wait between 1.5 months to 3 months to experience relief from Tinnitus, if MSC therapy is successful. Some patients have expressed relief in as little as one week. But, one will typically have to wait a full 6 months to experience all benefits that MSC therapy can provide, if it is successful.
When successful, MSC therapy can eliminate or dramatically reduce the intrusiveness of Tinnitus.
What will a MSC Tinnitus therapy treatment feel like?
You can expect to involve yourself in a therapy program that will last about a week. 4 days are typically used for stem cell therapy sessions. 3 or more days are then required for supportive therapy to help the stem cell therapy become a success. Supporting therapy includes peptide therapy, oxygenation, IV infusions, ear injections and sometimes even hormone therapy.
Should you take stem cell therapy for Tinnitus?
If we had to give you a yes or no answer, we will say the answer is No. There isn’t enough data about stem cell treatments working for hearing loss or Tinnitus. You can perhaps wait a year or two to see if the treatment becomes more mainstream. Stem cell research aimed at curing or treating Tinnitus is underway in many countries. But, research is a time consuming process. Approvals from FDA will take even longer.
We urge you to read through our Tinnitus blog here. There’s a lot of information that can help you find relief from Tinnitus, without expensive treatments. You could just find something that might work for you.
