A worldwide research team has discovered that a smartphone app can significantly reduce the distressing effects of tinnitus within a few weeks.
The MindEar app features cognitive behavioural therapy, mindfulness, relaxation exercises, and sound therapy to help the brain tune out bothersome tinnitus sounds.
It gives hope to millions of people (one in four) dealing with tinnitus—a condition impacting hearing, mood, concentration, sleep, and sometimes leading to anxiety or depression—especially those who face long waits for treatment or can not afford specialised support.
Researcher Suzanne Purdy explained that while traditional cognitive behavioural therapy is helpful for tinnitus, it usually requires the expertise of a trained psychologist.
“That’s expensive and often difficult to access,” she said.
In the first trial with 30 sufferers, nearly two-thirds saw a “clinically significant improvement.”
Lead researcher and MindEar co-founder Mr. Fabrice Bardy added two-thirds saw an improvement after only 16 weeks.
“This was shortened to only eight weeks when patients additionally had access to an online psychologist,” he said.
“One of the most common misconceptions about tinnitus is that there is nothing you can do about it; you just have to live with it. This is simply not true. Professional help from those with expertise in tinnitus support can reduce the fear and anxiety attached to the sound patient’s experience.”
The research team spanning Australia, New Zealand, France, and Belgium, plans to conduct more significant clinical trials in the UK with the University College London Hospital.
Unravelling the Mechanism: The Science Behind Its Effectiveness
Cognitive-behavioural therapy aims to help people focus through a training program, allowing the mind and body to suppress stress hormones and responses to sounds, ultimately reducing the brain’s focus on tinnitus.
Michael Maslin, a New Zealand lecturer, clarified that while cognitive-behavioural therapy does not change the tinnitus sound, it helps manage symptoms by altering how the sound is perceived, making it less threatening.
He mentioned combining treatments, like cognitive-behavioural therapy and mindfulness, is more effective for alleviating tinnitus than using each therapy alone.
He explained using mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for tinnitus helps in accepting sounds without trying to change thoughts or avoid unwanted sounds.
Further, he noted the effectiveness of the “chatbot” app function.
“There is also promise in an engaging conversational agent or a ‘chatbot’ which delivers cognitive-behavioural therapy in a conversation-like manner and allows users to work through complex situations with guidance from a virtual coach,” he said.
Concerns Over Limitations in Tinnitus Treatment
However, a medical research institute in Melbourne is concerned about the current limitations in treating tinnitus, as the existing methods only control symptoms and may not always be effective.
Bionics Institute Lead researcher Mr. Mehrnaz Shoushtarian said there is currently no straightforward test to diagnose or measure the severity of tinnitus, making it difficult for doctors to help those affected.
She helped develop a test to measure the severity of tinnitus, emphasising that there are other impactful technologies for the physical condition besides apps.
“We have developed a test that can distinguish between mild and severe tinnitus with 87 percent accuracy using light technology to read brain activity that is analysed using artificial intelligence,” she explained.
“Our aim is to provide clinicians with a reliable diagnostic test to assess if a treatment is working and also give researchers the information about brain activity in tinnitus needed to develop new treatments.”
Bionics Institute CEO Robert Klupacs stated that the test is a prime example of excellent bioengineering innovation.
“Dr Shoushtarian’s team uses a technology called functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), a non-invasive brain imaging technique that measures blood oxygen changes in the brain,” he said.
“Her team has shown that we can diagnose tinnitus with incredible accuracy in a small clinical study. We are now seeking funding to develop a portable version with easy-to-use software that can be trialled for use in clinics in Australia and around the world.”
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I like my tinnitus, it’s in stereo. I can bring different ‘layers’ to the front.
I don’t focus on it as the article suggests. I have it, I’ve accepted it, I’m accustomed to it. Is trying that method too hard for people? Doing something for yourself – now that sounds a bit revolutionary these days don’t you think?
“you just have to live with it. This is simply not true.”
Like anything else, It is still there, but the mind is directed to a distraction. It wasn’t medically fixed. I call that living with it.
Mindfulness… “focus through a training program”
I find the use of the word, mindfulness, unfortunate where a ‘clinical’ solution is expected. This is at best, a band-aid. Should your focus be disrupted you lose the benefit. This is the problem with ‘mindfulness’, it does not address the true issue, and is a form of pretence.
My suggestion: Come to terms with yourself and learn to live with it. Hard it may be, but who said life is easy?
Hi Howdy ,
Thank you for your interesting ersonal comment. It prompted me to read a potion of Part 4 of Richard P. Feynman’s personal book “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!”.Ih read it several decades earlier and now found I had forgotten the derails of what Ijust read. I am a curious person, so I ask: Have you ever read it. I recommend now read Part four because it more about Human Nature than it is about physics. For I consider this article and your comment are more about human nature than even Hunan Science (medicine).
You’ve mentioned the publication not long ago Jerry, remember?
It’s not my sort of reading.
Oh, btw, there is another sort of tinnitus, ‘pulsatile’, I know because I’ve had it.
A sort of beating white noise in sympathy with the heart. A blood vessel in contact with the hearing nerve sheath I recall. Perhaps worthy of a visit to the doc?
I admit I have always forgotten but the problem has greatly increased since I passed 80. But I do not flip a switch turn off about learning something new.,
You wrote: “It’s not my sort of reading”. I cannot understand anyone who makes comments when it seems they might not have any idea of what has been Written. MattH seems to also have your problem as he tells me he has not and will not read Sir Edmund Hillary’s book “No Latitude For Error” be cause he is aware of what Hillary did. While I question if he can tell me the significance of the book’s title.
And I will non stop reading your & his comments because I know everyone, including myself, is ignorant about many things as I agree with Galileo who wrote (as translated by someone) “I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn’t learn something from him.)
I draw this (Estefanlo Floating Globe with LED Lights C Shape Magnetic Levitation Floating Globe World Map for Desk Decoration) because I consider to be more than a desk decoration)..I had my family get me one for a Christmas present. It is a scientific demonstration device one as one spent the globe toward the east and one can how the Northern Hemisphere’s surface so different from that of the Southern Hemisphere, And it’s also a great attractive nightlight.
incorporated for charitable purposes. Head Office: 27 Old Gloucester Street, London WC1N 3AX.
Howdy
| #
I like my tinnitus, it’s in stereo. I can bring different ‘layers’ to the front.
I don’t focus on it as the article suggests. I have it, I’ve accepted it, I’m accustomed to it. Is trying that method too hard for people? Doing something for yourself – now that sounds a bit revolutionary these days don’t you think?
This was possible long before ‘apps’ were the preferred way, including rife.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=tinnitus+sound+therapy
Note that as usual, video promises don’t equal results.
“you just have to live with it. This is simply not true.”
Like anything else, It is still there, but the mind is directed to a distraction. It wasn’t medically fixed. I call that living with it.
Mindfulness… “focus through a training program”
I find the use of the word, mindfulness, unfortunate where a ‘clinical’ solution is expected. This is at best, a band-aid. Should your focus be disrupted you lose the benefit. This is the problem with ‘mindfulness’, it does not address the true issue, and is a form of pretence.
My suggestion: Come to terms with yourself and learn to live with it. Hard it may be, but who said life is easy?
Reply
Jerry Krause
| #
Hi Howdy ,
Thank you for your interesting ersonal comment. It prompted me to read a potion of Part 4 of Richard P. Feynman’s personal book “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!”.Ih read it several decades earlier and now found I had forgotten the derails of what Ijust read. I am a curious person, so I ask: Have you ever read it. I recommend now read Part four because it more about Human Nature than it is about physics. For I consider this article and your comment are more about human nature than even Hunan Science (medicine).
Have a good day
Reply
Howdy
| #
You’ve mentioned the publication not long ago Jerry, remember?
It’s not my sort of reading.
Oh, btw, there is another sort of tinnitus, ‘pulsatile’, I know because I’ve had it.
A sort of beating white noise in sympathy with the heart. A blood vessel in contact with the hearing nerve sheath I recall. Perhaps worthy of a visit to the doc?
Reply
Jerry Krause
| #
Hi Howdy,
I admit I have always forgotten but the problem has greatly increased since I passed 80. But I do not flip a switch turn off about learning something new.,
You wrote: “It’s not my sort of reading”. I cannot understand anyone who makes comments when it seems they might not have any idea of what has been Written. MattH seems to also have your problem as he tells me he has not and will not read Sir Edmund Hillary’s book “No Latitude For Error” be cause he is aware of what Hillary did. While I question if he can tell me the significance of the book’s title.
And I will non stop reading your & his comments because I know everyone, including myself, is ignorant about many things as I agree with Galileo who wrote (as translated by someone) “I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn’t learn something from him.)
Have a good day
Reply
Howdy
| #
I guess you forgot I provided a PDF link at the time, Jerry. I downloaded it and had a look, but it’s not for me.
Jerry Krause
| #
Hi PSI Readers,
I draw this (Estefanlo Floating Globe with LED Lights C Shape Magnetic Levitation Floating Globe World Map for Desk Decoration) because I consider to be more than a desk decoration)..I had my family get me one for a Christmas present. It is a scientific demonstration device one as one spent the globe toward the east and one can how the Northern Hemisphere’s surface so different from that of the Southern Hemisphere, And it’s also a great attractive nightlight.
Have a good day
Reply
aaron
| #
so who is upside down on your globe ?
nice decoration though
Reply