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DW-TV: The common fruit fly -- an amazing insect that has taught us an enormous amount about evolution as well as disease. Now it's being employed in the fight against tinnitus – that ringing or buzzing in the ears that doesn't go away on its own. Joining us in the studio is Gerhard Hesse, one of the leading experts in the field in Germany. He heads a clinic not far from Kassel that focuses on treating the condition. Thanks for joining us.

Gerhard Hesse: In a way we get to know a lot about these extremely delicate structures of the inner ear through this research with the fly, but the problem is of course much different in humans because the reason why they develop tinnitus or hearing loss is also different. The genetic factor is not that important in humans.

DW-TV: The latest research indicates that electronic gadgets, high noise levels and stress have a serious impact on how we hear. What can we do to change that?

Gerhard Hesse: This is the exact problem, that the loud noise and surroundings and especially what we do with our leisure time, discotheques, rock concerts, and walkman and things like this they do a lot of damage to these delicate hair cells. And they produce a hearing loss and tinnitus. So this is one problem which should be controlled. Stress is another factor that goes under psychological impact and this also influences our ability to overcome problems like tinnitus.

DW-TV: What do the patients that you see suffer from most?

Gerhard Hesse: Well, they say they suffer from tinnitus and following morbidities like they cannot sleep very well they cannot concentrate, but I think the main problem they have is the underlying hearing loss they have, even if they do not feel it as a hearing loss. And that has to be controlled.

DW-TV: And are you able to help them?

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:  Gerhard Hesse: In a way yes, of course, we cannot really cure it, like we give them a tablet and it's gone. But what we can do is we can teach them to overhear this disturbing noise to improve their hearing, even if they have hearing loss. We give them hearing aids, to really rehabilitate their hearing loss and this helps a lot to develop their ability to overcome their own tinnitus.

DW-TV: How much of the conditions is physiological and how much is psychological?

Gerhard Hesse: Well, we say that at least one fourth of the population in industrialized countries has tinnitus, but only about five percent suffer from it, because the psychological factor comes into it, and because if you are depressed than you cannot really live with it or work with it. And then you have to be treated.

DW-TV: We just talked about industrialized nations. Is this purely a problem there, or is it something we see in developing nations as well?

Gerhard Hesse: We know from the old Egyptians that they had this already and there are old inscriptions that say that there are treatments already for it. But in industrialized countries there is much more. On the other hand, if you have hunger or big infectious diseases then the tinnitus is not that important and people don't go for that problem - don't really go to a doctor.

DW-TV: Now, tinnitus can't really be healed, what are the best ways to prevent it?

Gerhard Hesse: Well, it cannot be healed in the way that you give them a tablet and it's gone. But the tactic to learn to overhear random noise, as we call it, which is tinnitus, this can be developed tremendously and can lead to the fact that the person doesn't hear is tinnitus anymore.

DW-TV: Gerhard Hesse, thank you very much for joining us here today.