Breakthrough for Temporary Tinnitus Sufferers

A new sound therapy can cure temporary tinnitus, the result of exposure to loud music, working in a noisy environment, or after using headphones.

The SOMTUS tinnitus reduction therapy is aimed at combating temporary tinnitus, as well residual headaches initially caused by the tinnitus. In effect it works towards restoring the quality of hearing that the individual had prior to experiencing sound trauma by using low-frequency sounds to manipulate the tangled cochlear hairs back into position, functioning as a virtual “comb” being moved through hair. Those cochlear hairs that are straight and not bound to other hairs remain unaffected, but those that are caught on other hairs are gently aligned back into position.

This immediately solves this problem of temporary tinnitus and helps the individual restore normal hearing. The stress of the situation also diminishes, and the residual headache associated with the ringing decreases and the ability to concentrate, relax, or sleep increases. All of this is achieved within one minute, the time it takes for sound to move through the cochlear hairs, and is completely safe. The solution has been commercialized by Restored Hearing (Sligo; Ireland), formed by the inventors, students at the University of Edinburgh (United Kingdom) and University College Dublin (Ireland).

“Using sound, our therapy stimulates the inner ear to promote the re-straightening of the cochlear hairs that get bent or even broken when they are subjected to high intensity sound,” said coinventor Eimear O’Carroll, currently a fourth year physics student in the University of Edinburgh. “In 99% of cases the tinnitus of the sufferer was gone after one minute of our sound therapy.”

Temporary tinnitus has a prevalence rate of 92%, and is a condition experienced when decibel levels are excessive. The “ringing in the ears” can last for several days and cause the sufferer severe irritation and discomfort. The high-pitched sound is caused when loud noises flatten the tiny hairs inside the ear. The hairs then cause interference with one another, which the brain interprets as a “phantom” noise.

Related Links:
Restored Hearing
University of Edinburgh
University College Dublin