Hearing Loss and Tinnitus. Do they change your brain structure?

An article on Futurity.org discusses  a study at the University of Illinois that researched brain structure changes resulting from Hearing Loss and Tinnitus. Surprisingly, the sensory deprivation from Hearing Loss caused greater brain structure changes than Tinnitus, which can range from mildly annoying to debilitating.

Evidently Hearing Loss WITH Tinnitus resulted in brain function changes but less brain structure changes.

“However, in the case of tinnitus, surprisingly, there were few changes to brain structure despite changes to function, suggesting that when sensory deprivation is accompanied by self-generated noise, it may be better at preserving neural tissue.”
See the full article at http://www.futurity.org/health-medicine/hearing-loss-may-change-brain-structure/

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