Loyola University Medical Center is studying whether a new form of non-invasive magnetic therapy can help people who suffer debilitating tinnitus (ringing in the ears). The therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), sends short pulses of magnetic fields to the brain. TMS has been approved since 2009 for patients who have major depression and have failed at least one antidepressant. The Loyola study will include patients who suffer from both depression and tinnitus. Recent studies have found that about 12 percent of people with chronic tinnitus also suffer depression and anxiety—a rate three times higher than that of the general population.
