White Matter Alterations Are More Robust Than Gray Matter Differences in Tinnitus and Hearing Loss: An MRI Study of Military Personnel

Tinnitus and hearing loss are the most prevalent service-related auditory disabilities among American veterans. Previous studies have examined gray matter or white matter alterations in tinnitus and hearing loss relative to healthy controls, but typically in isolation, and none of them have focused specifically on a military-affiliated population.

No actionable change for immediate clinical practice — this is a neuroimaging study in a military population; findings may eventually inform biomarker development for tinnitus, but white matter metrics are not yet clinical tools for audiologists.

Identifying robust neuroimaging biomarkers for tinnitus and hearing loss in military populations could accelerate research into brain-based mechanisms of these conditions and the development of objective diagnostic or treatment-monitoring tools.

1. 01MRI study of military personnel comparing those with and without tinnitus and hearing loss.
2. 02White matter alterations were more robust neuroimaging markers than gray matter differences between groups.
3. 03Military populations have high rates of noise-induced hearing loss and tinnitus, making this a clinically relevant cohort.
4. 04Findings support a growing body of evidence for central (brain-level) changes associated with peripheral hearing damage.
5. 05Study does not establish causality; white matter changes may precede, follow, or co-occur with hearing loss and tinnitus.

PMID

42128994

DOI

10.1007/s10162-026-01052-0.

Journal

JARO: Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology

Publication type

research_article

Evidence level

3

Population

Military personnel with tinnitus and hearing loss compared to military personnel without these conditions

Intervention

MRI neuroimaging analysis (white matter and gray matter metrics)

Comparator

Military personnel without tinnitus or hearing loss