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The ringing, rushing sound of tinnitus is a complex condition. It's caused by a range of factors, so there's no known one-size-fits-all treatment. But researchers are reporting excellent results with a combination treatment in a smartphone app.
Some 5% of people experience tinnitus at some point in their lives – I'm one of them. It can develop after repeated exposure to loud noise; that's probably where I picked it up, thanks to a long association with drums, live music and loud motorcycles. But it can also arise thanks to wax buildup, the effect of medication, inflammation due to illness, the growth of tumors, or even circulatory system issues.
Sometimes it's barely noticeable, other times it can be impossible to ignore. This phantom noise can go away and come back, it can change from a high-pitched ring in your left ear, like the sound when an old TV is turned on with no sound, to a high-pitched hiss in your right, as if somebody's left a high-powered guitar amplifier on over your shoulder somewhere. It can make it hard to sleep, intruding upon the silence of the night, or it can flare up and make it hard to hear conversations. This is because, whatever the initial cause of tinnitus, the symptom itself is generated by the brain. It can cause stress and anxiety, and it can worsen in response to them in a vicious cycle.
There have been many treatments proposed, and some have shown promise in certain types of tinnitus patients, but a team of researchers at the University of Auckland has found it's getting strong results with a smartphone app that takes a kitchen-sink approach, combining a number of different treatments in one.
newatlas.com
Some 5% of people experience tinnitus at some point in their lives – I'm one of them. It can develop after repeated exposure to loud noise; that's probably where I picked it up, thanks to a long association with drums, live music and loud motorcycles. But it can also arise thanks to wax buildup, the effect of medication, inflammation due to illness, the growth of tumors, or even circulatory system issues.
Sometimes it's barely noticeable, other times it can be impossible to ignore. This phantom noise can go away and come back, it can change from a high-pitched ring in your left ear, like the sound when an old TV is turned on with no sound, to a high-pitched hiss in your right, as if somebody's left a high-powered guitar amplifier on over your shoulder somewhere. It can make it hard to sleep, intruding upon the silence of the night, or it can flare up and make it hard to hear conversations. This is because, whatever the initial cause of tinnitus, the symptom itself is generated by the brain. It can cause stress and anxiety, and it can worsen in response to them in a vicious cycle.
There have been many treatments proposed, and some have shown promise in certain types of tinnitus patients, but a team of researchers at the University of Auckland has found it's getting strong results with a smartphone app that takes a kitchen-sink approach, combining a number of different treatments in one.
"Polytherapeutic" tinnitus treatment app delivers impressive results
The ringing, rushing sound of tinnitus is a complex condition. It's caused by a range of factors, so there's no known one-size-fits-all treatment. But researchers are reporting excellent results with a combination treatment in a smartphone app.
newatlas.com
