General

It usually starts out small — you “hear” something that doesn’t come from any external stimuli. The sound may last for a minute or two and then dissipate. Some people go on to experience this noise more frequently. In severe cases, the sound turns into a constant and life-altering companion.

The name for this is tinnitus, which is a symptom of an underlying issue involving your auditory system. The team at BrainStim Centers has extensive experience helping patients find relief from tinnitus using an innovative technique called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).

Before we get into how TMS may be able to resolve your tinnitus, let’s take a closer look at this condition to help you better recognize the problem.

The many faces of tinnitus

As we mentioned, tinnitus isn’t a disease but is a symptom of a problem in your auditory system. This symptom is most often described as ringing in your ears, but the sound can also present itself as:

• Clicking
• Hissing
• Humming
• Buzzing
• Whistling

Sometimes the noise caused by tinnitus is like a roar or rushing sound.

While you can “hear” these noises, they don’t come from any external source, which means it’s created by a malfunction in your auditory system.

These sounds can come and go or remain constant. As well, the levels of the sounds can vary, depending upon the underlying issue.

Common causes of tinnitus

There are any number of problems that can lead to tinnitus, and here are just a few of the more common ones:

• Damage due to prolonged exposure to noise (working in a noisy plant or wearing headphones)
• Damage due to sudden, proximal noise (such as a bomb)
• Age-related hearing loss
• Ear infections
• Certain medications
• Trauma to your head or neck
• Blockages in your ear canals
• Blood vessel disorders
• Eustachian tube dysfunction
• Meniere’s disease (abnormal inner ear pressure)
• Temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ)

When it comes to treating tinnitus, it’s imperative that you receive a proper diagnosis, which will dictate how you go about treating the problem and finding relief.

Tinnitus and TMS

In a best-case scenario, you’re diagnosed with an ear infection or wax buildup, both of which can be quickly cleared up. Unfortunately, tinnitus isn’t usually that easy to figure out and takes a fair bit of sleuthing. Even after an extensive analysis, you and your doctors may be unable to pinpoint the underlying problem.

In these cases, treating this symptom can be very difficult, which is where our TMS treatment may help you find much-needed relief.

To start, we perform a brain scan (MRI) to determine the exact target on the surface of the brain to treat. Using TMS therapy, we can deliver pulses into these areas to stimulate brain neuron activity.

If we find that you may benefit from TMS, we discuss an appropriate timeline — typically five sessions per week for 2-4 weeks. Each of these sessions (except for the first) usually lasts only 20 minutes. Because the TMS treatments are noninvasive, you’re free to get on with your day after you come to see us.

As you progress through your treatments, you should realize gradual improvement in your tinnitus, and we can always make some adjustments along the way for optimal results.

If you’d like to explore whether TMS therapy may hold the key to resolving your tinnitus, contact one of our offices in Encino or Valencia, California, to set up a consultation.

Medication is not the only answer in treating depression and anxiety. In fact, many antidepressants do not work or leave people with multiple side effects. The best option is to combine medication with non-invasive treatments, or if possible, to eliminate medications altogether.

Fundamentally, depression and anxiety are linked to the human brain. The human brain is built of billions of neurons doing multiple tasks at the same time. These neurons receive and fire signals from different parts of our body to our brain and back. Unfortunately, if some parts of our brain are less active than others, the brain will not send and receive the signals it is meant to. Research has shown that the part of the brain responsible for depression and anxiety is the prefrontal cortex. It is believed that by stimulating the brain, our body will start producing serotonin. Serotonin is the main hormone linked to depression and anxiety. If our body has enough serotonin our mood will be uplifted.

How to increase the serotonin levels by non-invasive methods?

 

1. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS): TMS is one of the best methods to stimulate the exact part of the brain responsible for serotonin production- the Dorsal Lateral Prefrontal Cortex (DLPFC). TMS therapy should be repeated for about 36 sessions which will leave the patient with significant mood improvements. TMS doesn’t hurt, the sessions are short, and have very little to no side effects. The most common side effect is headache during the treatment.
2. Working out: regular exercise reduces the levels of stress hormones such as cortisol and epinephrine. As a consequence, our body is more relaxed and our minds are more focused. Regular workouts are linked to memory and concentration improvement, as well as being better equipped to deal with depression, anxiety, and panic attacks.
3. Meditation: just like working out, meditation helps with balancing the stress hormones in our body. Moreover, by learning how to meditate, we learn how to put our body in a relaxation stage, accept everything that is going on in our body and brain, and release those stressors.
4. Breathing: breath control is a key component in reducing stress. Learning how to take deep breaths from your belly helps to reduce feeling stressed, overwhelmed, and anxious.
5. Good diet: what you eat has a huge impact on how you feel. Foods such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, unsweetened dairy products, and spices such as turmeric and cinnamon will improve your overall mood. Moreover, nuts, seeds, and olive oil can improve your brain work.

As you can see there are many ways that your mood can be uplifted without medication. Call us at 310.895.7122 if you would like to learn more about TMS. Our team will walk you through the process and create a plan of action best for your healthcare needs.

Exercise more, eat less, buy healthier foods, lose weight, save money, quit smoking, drink less coffee or caffeine…These are some of the top New Year’s resolutions that people make. At the beginning of each new year, we hope that we will finally find the motivation to make these change in our lives.

But how can we really achieve our goals and become the people we want to be?

Achieving goals and making changes to our lives usually starts with changing our behavior—not an easy task! It takes a lot of will power to do it, but that is not all. You can have a strong sense of self-control, yet the most effective way to change your behavior is change your habits.

Why isn’t a strong sense of self-control enough to change behavior?

Well, let’s think about driving. How often do you drive a car and not think about it? You take a turn, put your blinkers on or stop at a red light without really thinking of driving itself. It is because driving, like many (in fact 43%) of our everyday actions, is habitual and doesn’t require a lot of decision-making processes. A habit is a behavior that we repeat often without giving it a lot of thought. It is a mental association and often leads to positive reinforcement which makes it even harder to change. Interestingly, on average humans can form a habit after only 21 days.

What is the best way to change a habit?

The best way to change your behavior and break a bad habit, is to make subtle changes in your everyday routine. That way you are not only breaking the mental associations in your head, but you also put less pressure on yourself to make a change in your life, which will happen gradually over time, for good!

Moreover, when you are changing your behavior, you should make it as enjoyable, comfortable, and convenient as possible. For example, if your goal for 2021 is to exercise more but you hate going to the gym, don’t force yourself to go there. Start working out at home, go for a hike, or get a personal trainer at a small studio. Figure out a way to make exercise fun and easy. By making it enjoyable and convenient, you won’t have any excuse not to do it.

Lastly, try to be aware of what you are doing and what decisions you are making that will effect your ability to change the habit.

Again, knowing that we should change a habit and wanting to do something different are simply not enough. Focusing on long-term changes in behavior, using fun and convenient methods will help you achieve your goals! Before you know it, you will be successful!!

As the saying goes, “Out with the old and in with the new!” 2021 is a new year full of possibilities. Contact us at Brainstim Centers to see how we can help you achieve your new goals.