The AudioNotch Tinnitus Treatment Blog

Please note: the following information does not constitute professional medical advice, and is provided for general informational purposes only. Please speak to your doctor if you have tinnitus.

Tinnitus, the uncomfortable hearing condition that causes a constant droning, buzzing or ringing in heads of sufferers, received its own week of awareness in the United States and in the United Kingdom from February 6 to February 12.

In an article published by The Guardian during Tinnitus Awareness Week, a research effort at the University of Leicester was reported to be falling short of expectations despite its innovative approach to treatment. The strategy in question involves flashing lights of different colors over a series of therapeutic sessions. The idea is to occupy certain neurological functions so that patients do not engage the brain cells that assimilate and identify sound as it increases ringing ear frequency.

The excitability of certain brain functions is one of the many theories behind what medical researchers believe may be the root causes of tinnitus. Unfortunately, the researchers at the University of Leicester are not seeing much progress from the use of colored lights.

Determination of Ringing Ear Frequency

A tinnitus treatment method that is showing more promise than the aforementioned flashing lights involves the measurement of ringing ear frequency. This practical method can be enacted with the assistance of a smartphone or tablet, a web-based application and a pair of headphones.

AudioNotch is an online app that creates specific sounds according to the frequency heard or experienced by tinnitus patients. The guiding principle of this treatment method is based on research conducted at the Westfalian Wilhelms-University in Germany; the approach is called customized notched music, and it aims to reduce the loudness of the tinnitus sounds.

The use of notched and filtered sound to treat tinnitus patients has gone through peer review processes. This treatment method has shown to be substantially effective for many patients. The simplicity of the method is an important aspect of treatment since it involves three steps:

1 – Using the AudioNotch web application to determine the frequency of tinnitus sounds.

2 – Create a therapeutic sound by either uploading music or choosing from a digital audio library. The therapy is customized based on the previous step.

3 – Patients should listen to their customized notch sounds for one hour on a daily basis. Many patients will notice an improvement and will experience relief after a few days.

It is important to note that AudioNotch is for patients whose tinnitus condition is caused by noise exposure and not by secondary effects such as infections or reactions to certain medications.