Translating Animal Findings to Humans in Tinnitus Research

Animal models of tinnitus have made significant contributions to the current understanding of its neurobiological mechanisms and to the evaluation of potential tinnitus treatments. They have also played an important role in identifying biomarkers for tinnitus diagnosis and treatment. Nonetheless, translating findings from animal studies to humans remains a challenge due to the different and complex pathophysiologies of tinnitus, heterogeneity of the testing population, different methodologies and outcome measures, and differences in drug pharmacokinetics between animals and humans. Future translational studies that employ stricter subject selection criteria, appropriate calculations for human equivalent doses (HEDs) based on body mass, more precise control of electrode locations and stimulation parameters, and a set of comprehensive outcome measures could be expected to achieve more consistent results that may translate more readily to humans suffering from tinnitus. Considering the heterogeneity of tinnitus, developing personalised treatments based on sensitive and reliable biomarkers is urgently needed for both animal and human studies.