Understanding bothersome ringing in the ears using body responses
Official title: Using sympathetic nervous system responses to evaluate distressing tinnitus: a pupillometry and skin conductance feasibility study.
Funded at James H Quillen VA Medical Center · NIH-11072062 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project aims to find new ways to measure how much ringing in the ears, or tinnitus, bothers Veterans, using physical signs like pupil changes and skin responses.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | James H Quillen VA Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Mountain Home, United States) |
| Project start | July 1, 2024 |
| Project end | June 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| NIH project number | 5I21RX005157-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11072062 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates would be Veterans aged 21 and older who experience bothersome tinnitus.
✕Less likely to help
Patients whose tinnitus is not bothersome or who are not Veterans may not directly benefit from this specific project.
What this research studies
We know that ringing in the ears, called tinnitus, can be very distressing for many, especially Veterans. Currently, we mostly rely on what patients tell us about their tinnitus. This project wants to find objective ways to measure how bothersome tinnitus is, beyond just asking. We will look at how your body reacts to bothersome tinnitus, specifically focusing on changes in pupil size and skin conductance. These physical signs can show how much mental effort you are using or how aroused you are. By studying these responses, we hope to better understand how tinnitus affects concentration and causes distress.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could lead to better, more objective ways to identify and treat bothersome tinnitus, especially for Veterans.
How similar studies have gone: While subjective reports are common, developing objective measures for tinnitus distress using these specific physiological responses is a novel approach.
Where this research is happening
-
James H Quillen VA Medical Center
Mountain Home, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Giuliani, Nicholas — James H Quillen VA Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Giuliani, Nicholas
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Understanding how stress and arousal relate to tinnitus using eye and skin signals
Researchers will test whether easy-to-measure signals like pupil size and skin conductance can reflect how distressing tinnitus feels in adults, especially Veterans.
-
Understanding why age-related hearing loss and tinnitus happen in diverse groups
A study aims to find genetic reasons behind age-related hearing loss and tinnitus in African ancestry and Latino populations.
-
Subjective and Somatic Tinnitus: Finding Objective Brain Signals with a Special fNIRS Scan
This grant tests a brain-imaging approach to identify objective brain signals in people with tinnitus, including those whose phantom sounds change with jaw or head movements.
-
Hormones, gut bacteria, and blood markers linked to tinnitus in women
This study looks at how hormones, gut microbes, and metabolic signals relate to the start and possible remission of tinnitus in women.
-
Understanding age-related hearing loss and tinnitus in diverse communities
This project looks for genetic changes linked to age-related hearing loss and ringing in the ears using large whole-genome datasets, focusing especially on people of African and Latino backgrounds.
-
Diagnosing and treating tinnitus linked to head, neck, or jaw problems
This project develops a screening test and a physical-therapy treatment for people—especially Veterans—whose tinnitus changes with head, neck, jaw, or eye movements.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.