Chronic tinnitus, the perception of lifelong constant ringing in ear, is one capital cause of disability in modern society. It is often present with various comorbid factors that severely affect quality of life, including insomnia, deficits in attention, anxiety, and depression. Currently, there are limited therapeutic treatments for alleviation of tinnitus. Tinnitus can involve a shift in neuronal excitation/inhibition (E/I) balance, which is largely modulated by ion channels and receptors. Thus, ongoing research is geared toward pharmaceutical approaches that modulate the function of ion channels and receptors. Here, we propose a seesaw model that delineates how tinnitus-related ion channels and receptors are involved in homeostatic E/I balance of neurons. This review provides a thorough account of our current mechanistic understanding of tinnitus and insight into future direction of drug development.

慢性耳鸣是一种终生不断在耳朵上响的感觉，是现代社会残疾的主要原因之一。它经常伴有严重影响生活质量的各种合并症，包括失眠，注意力不集中，焦虑和沮丧。当前，减轻耳鸣的治疗方法有限。耳鸣可能涉及神经元兴奋/抑制（E / I）平衡的转变，这在很大程度上受离子通道和受体的调节。因此，正在进行的研究针对调节离子通道和受体功能的药物方法。在这里，我们提出了一个跷跷板模型，该模型描述了耳鸣相关离子通道和受体如何参与神经元稳态E / I平衡。