Earplug-induced changes in acoustic reflex thresholds suggest that increased subcortical neural gain may be necessary but not sufficient for the occurrence of tinnitus

The occurrence of tinnitus is associated with hearing loss and neuroplastic changes in the brain, but disentangling correlation and causation has remained difficult in both human and animal studies. Here we use earplugs to cause a period of monaural deprivation to induce a temporary, fully reversible tinnitus sensation, to test whether differences in subcortical changes in neural response gain, as reflected through changes in acoustic reflex...