+- Tinnitus 7 Forum (https://tinnitus7.com)
+-- Forum: Tinnitus 7 Forum (https://tinnitus7.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=1)
+--- Forum: General (https://tinnitus7.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=2)
+--- Thread: Increased basal ganglia volume in older adults with tinnitus (/showthread.php?tid=45)
Increased basal ganglia volume in older adults with tinnitus - newsmaster - November 27, 2025
Key take aways:
- People with tinnitus didn’t have worse hearing than those without tinnitus - because hearing tests showed both groups had almost identical hearing levels.
- Basic brainstem hearing signals were the same in both groups - because the ABR test (a quick electrical test of hearing pathways) showed no meaningful differences.
- Thinking and mood were similar in both groups - because both scored the same on simple questionnaires for cognition and depression.
- Deep brain "filtering" areas were larger in people with tinnitus - MRI scans showed the basal ganglia (brain hubs that help filter signals and control attention) were about 7–8% bigger.
- This suggests tinnitus is more about how the brain handles signals, not about damage in the ear - because the ear pathways looked normal, but the brain’s control/filter areas were changed.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-25065-6