Five years later, the findings of their studies, published in the journals Otology & Neurotology and Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery, respectively, offer the strongest evidence yet that the protein, called prestin, may play a role in tinnitus. Parham hopes the breakthrough will spark larger studies and the development of a drug to treat the condition.
Prestin links ear cells and tinnitus
In both studies, Parham and fellow researchers Dr. Daniel Roberts, a neurotologist in the Department of Surgery’s Division of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery, and Dr. Erika Skoe, a hearing scientist in the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, found elevated levels of prestin in individuals with tinnitus.