Can a single ketamine dose quiet the brain's noise in people with tinnitus?

For people living with the constant ringing or buzzing of tinnitus, the search for relief is urgent. A small, early-stage trial took a new approach: giving a single dose of ketamine to see if it could change the brain's chemistry where the phantom sound is processed. The study involved 42 adults, some who were distressed by their tinnitus and some who were not, and used brain scans to measure levels of glutamate and GABA—chemicals involved in brain signaling and inhibition. The trial was funded by the New York State Psychiatric Institute. It's important to know this was a Phase 2 study, which means it's still very early research focused on understanding how ketamine might work in the brain. The results posted don't tell us if the drug made the tinnitus feel any better for the people in the study, or what side effects they might have experienced. This is a first step in exploring a complex idea, not evidence that ketamine is a treatment.