2024-01-09 11:22:58
In just a few weeks, the debilitating impact of tinnitus can be reduced through a training course and sound therapy delivered through a smartphone app.
This is confirmed by a team of Australian, New Zealand, French and Belgian universities whose work is published in ‘Frontiers in Audiology and Otology‘.
The study offers some hope to millions of people affected by tinnitus for whom there are hardly any effective treatment options.
The initial trial involved 30 patients, of whom almost two-thirds experienced “clinically significant improvement.”
The team is now planning larger trials in the UK in collaboration with the University College London Hospital.
The application, MindEaris available for people to try out themselves on a smartphone.
It is estimated that tinnitus affects up to one in four people. In Spain, Spain affects 3 and a half million people. It is mainly experienced by older adults, but can appear in children. For some, it goes away without intervention. For others, it can be a debilitating life change: affects hearing, mood, concentration, sleep and, in severe cases, causes anxiety or depression.
«One of the most common misconceptions about tinnitus is that nothing can be done about it; that you just have to live with it. This is simply not true. Professional help from people with experience in the treatment of tinnitus can reduce the fear and anxiety associated with the sound that patients experience,” says Fabrice Bardy of the University of Auckland and main author of the article. Bardy is also the co-founder of MindEar, a company created to commercialize MindEar technology.
“Cognitive behavioral therapy is known to help people with tinnitus, but it requires a trained psychologist. “That is expensive and often difficult to access,” he says. Suzanne Purdand, Waipapa Taumata Rau Professor of Psychology at the University of Auckland.
“MindEar uses a combination of cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness and relaxation exercises, as well as sound therapy, to help you train your brain’s reaction so we can tune out tinnitus. The sound that is perceived fades into the background and is much less annoying,” he says.
«In our test, two-thirds of our chatbot users saw improvement after 16 weeks. This was reduced to just eight weeks, when patients had additional access to an online psychologist,” says Bardy.
Filter sounds
Even before we are born, our brains learn to filter out sounds that we consider irrelevant, like the surprisingly loud sound of blood rushing through our ears. As we grow, our brain learns to filter out environmental noises.such as a busy road, air conditioning or a sleeping partner.
Most alarms, such as smoke detectors, bypass this filter and trigger a feeling of alertness in people, even if they are asleep. This primes the fight or flight response and is especially strong for sounds we associate with previous bad experiences.
Unlike an alarm, tinnitus occurs when a person hears a sound in the head or earswhen there is no external sound source or risk present in the environment and yet the mind responds with a similar alert response.
The sound is perceived as an unpleasant, irritating or intrusive noise that cannot be turned off. The brain focuses on it insistently, further training our mind to pay even more attention even if there is no risk. This offers the path for patients. By training and paying less attention to tinnitus, the easier it will be to tune out.
Tinnitus is not a disease in itself, but is often a symptom of another underlying health condition.
MindEar aims to help people practice concentration through a training program, equipping the mind and body to suppress hormones and stress responses, thereby reducing brain concentration in tinnitus.
Tinnitus is not a disease in itself, but is often a symptom of another underlying health condition, such as damage to the hearing system or tensions in the head and neck.
Although there is no known cure for tinnitus, There are management strategies and techniques that help many patients find relief.. With the evidence from this trial, the MindEar team is optimistic that there is a more accessible, rapidly available and effective tool for many of those affected by tinnitus who are still waiting for support.
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