{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,5]],"date-time":"2026-05-05T12:27:16Z","timestamp":1777984036857,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,24]],"date-time":"2026-04-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1776988800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Brain Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Pharmacological approaches to tinnitus have remained peripheral within research, despite persistent patient demand and advances in auditory neuroscience. There is increasing consideration of whether these developments now justify renewed focus on pharmacological research in tinnitus and hyperacusis. This paper presents a narrative synthesis of perspectives arising from an international scientific meeting, based on invited contributions from speakers who expanded on themes related to their presentations, integrating insights from systems neuroscience, cellular and molecular mechanisms, animal and human models of auditory hypersensitivity, and patient-reported experience. Rather than summarising individual presentations, the analysis focuses on converging mechanistic explanations, biological heterogeneity, emerging therapeutic targets, and advances in objective measurement. Particular attention is given to how evolving mechanistic frameworks can support patient education and clinical communication, even in the absence of disease-modifying treatments. Taken together, these discussions reflect renewed examination of pharmacological approaches to tinnitus and hyperacusis, with attention to both emerging mechanistic rationales and the substantial challenges that remain. Integrating mechanistic insights, phenotype-informed care, and responsible communication may help clarify research priorities and support informed clinical and patient-facing discussions.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/brainsci16050450","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,5]],"date-time":"2026-05-05T11:40:12Z","timestamp":1777981212000},"page":"450","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Advances in Pharmacological Approaches to Tinnitus and Hyperacusis: Insights into Mechanisms, Biomarkers, and Clinical Heterogeneity from an International Scientific Meeting"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6839-5649","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hashir","family":"Aazh","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Hashir International Institute, London W1W 5PF, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6826-6206","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Vinay","family":"Parameshwarappa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre de Recherche en Psychologie et Neurosciences, Aix-Marseille Universit\u00e9, 13003 Marseille, France"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3827-2576","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Arnaud","family":"Nore\u00f1a","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre de Recherche en Psychologie et Neurosciences, Aix-Marseille Universit\u00e9, 13003 Marseille, France"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5832-5137","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kelly N.","family":"Jahn","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080, USA"},{"name":"Callier Center for Communication Disorders, Dallas, TX 75235, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7938-9869","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Stefan","family":"Fink","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Otolaryngology\u2014Head and Neck Surgery, Hearing Cognition and Tinnitus, Molecular Physiology of Hearing, University of T\u00fcbingen, 72076 T\u00fcbingen, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5385-8770","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Stephan","family":"Wolpert","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Otolaryngology\u2014Head and Neck Surgery, Hearing Cognition and Tinnitus, Molecular Physiology of Hearing, University of T\u00fcbingen, 72076 T\u00fcbingen, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Rodrigo","family":"Donoso-San Mart\u00edn","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Otolaryngology\u2014Head and Neck Surgery, Hearing Cognition and Tinnitus, Molecular Physiology of Hearing, University of T\u00fcbingen, 72076 T\u00fcbingen, Germany"},{"name":"Laboratorio de Neurobiolog\u00eda de la Audici\u00f3n, Department of Neuroscience, Universidad de Chile, Santiago 8320000, Chile"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Lukas","family":"R\u00fcttiger","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Otolaryngology\u2014Head and Neck Surgery, Hearing Cognition and Tinnitus, Molecular Physiology of Hearing, University of T\u00fcbingen, 72076 T\u00fcbingen, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Marlies","family":"Knipper","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Otolaryngology\u2014Head and Neck Surgery, Hearing Cognition and Tinnitus, Molecular Physiology of Hearing, University of T\u00fcbingen, 72076 T\u00fcbingen, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4610-6161","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Wei","family":"Sun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Communicative Disorders and Sciences, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9061-8602","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Richard","family":"Salvi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Communication Disorders and Sciences, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"21","DOI":"10.4155\/cli.12.129","article-title":"Identifying and Prioritizing Unmet Research Questions for People with Tinnitus: 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