We revisited with an old friend of the podcast: Dr. Josef Rauschecker. He was our first ever guest – go back and listen to that episode! – who came up with the famous 'gating' theory of tinnitus.

Josef’s gating theory poses that while neural ‘noise’ may arise in the ear and lower brain regions due to hearing loss, this noise is typically cancelled out further up the auditory pathway. For most people at least, but not for those experiencing tinnitus.

We speak to Josef in person at his office in Georgetown University about how his theory has evolved, his views on psychological treatments for tinnitus, why animal studies for tinnitus often fail, and how we can quickly get new tinnitus medications to market.

(00:00) Introduction

(02:23) Explaining the 'Gating' Theory

(06:55) Tinnitus Disorder

(09:31) Recent Insights from MRI Studies

(12:06) Psychological Treatments for Tinnitus

(15:49) Animal Models to Cure Tinnitus

(21:04) Speeding Up New Treatments

(27:08) Lidocaine Cures Tinnitus?

(30:18) New Funding Opportunities

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