The AudioNotch Tinnitus Treatment Blog

In patients who suffer from both tinnitus and depression, there is data indicating that a class of medications called “Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors” (SSRI’s) are an effective treatment for both tinnitus and depression. That is to say, there is evidence that tinnitus severity and mood disorder symptoms of depression can be improved with the administration of SSRI’s (with or without psychotherapy as an adjunct). If you suffer from both tinnitus and depression, you may benefit from a trial of such medication. SSRI’s function by inhibiting the reuptake of serotonin, a neurostransmitter, by presynaptic neurons, which causes an increase in synaptic levels of … Continue Reading

As a medical student, I often use the American Association of Family Physician review article series when I want to get a broad overview on how to approach a certain clinical problem. They offer great summary articles that can provide helpful, accessible information for both patients and physicians.

If you read this article, you’ll understand why, prior to trying AudioNotch, we strongly recommend that a tinnitus sufferer consult a medical professional. The reason for this is that, although the majority of tinnitus cases are caused by noise induced hearing loss and associated loss of cochlear hearing cells, there are other causes that … Continue Reading

The subject of tinnitus and depression is one that is often overlooked by portrayals of the illness in mass media. The correlation between tinnitus and mood disorders such as depression is well established. Presumably, in some patients, there is a causal link between the permanence of the tinnitus tone and the subsequent development of depression. As a brief aside – if you are experiencing the symptoms of depression, please talk to your medical doctor immediately. Depression is a serious medical illness that can have debilitating long term health consequences.

Quotes from William Shatner in this ABC News article allude to … Continue Reading

Terry Asks:
I’ve had issues with a lot of products purchased on the internet claiming to offer free refunds, then not doing so. How do I know I can trust you?
Trust is understandably a very important component of any service being offered. Fortunately, AudioNotch uses PayPal, which makes it extremely easy to refund your purchase back into your PayPal account. Also, PayPal acts as an independent third party that can further take care of any concerns that you may have. The overwhelming majority of our customers are satisfied with our service, we’re very proud to say that we’ve only had to … Continue Reading

Jerry Asks:
How loud should the volume at which I listen to Notched White Noise be? I want to treat my tinnitus effectively, without causing more hearing loss.
As far as listening volume, according to the research we’ve looked at, you should try and listen to the therapy at a level approximately equal to your tinnitus volume. Be wary of listening to the therapy too loud, as that may damage your hearing and make your tinnitus worse! We recommend getting a good pair of headphones that is able to fully block out external noise and then listening to the sound therapy at a comfortable … Continue Reading

Here is a link to an excellent article on DJ Tech Tools on how best to prevent tinnitus. People for whom DJ’ing is a profession are at high risk – their job demands that they’re placed into environments with an absolutely staggering noise exposure. Tinnitus is an increasingly common problem for DJ’s, however, with the right preventative measures, you avoid getting it in the first place.

Cheers,
AudioNotch.

We’ve had the good fortune to have highly-engaged users, and we’re thankful for their feedback. If you’re an AudioNotch customer, and you’ve got suggestions, don’t hesitate to send them our way! We’ve already implemented multiple suggestions for upgrades to the software, and we’re always looking to please our users. Your feedback makes us better!

Cheers,
AudioNotch.

Jamie Asks:
How accurate does the match have to be? I’m having difficulty matching my tinnitus frequency to the computer generated frequency on the tuner.
We do have some tolerance built into our procedure. The notch width is actually based on the average frequency selectivity of a person, and is two equivalent rectangular bandwidths (ERB).

The ERB is dependent on frequency, so if your tinnitus frequency is 10,000 Hz (10 kHz), the ERB is about 1000 Hz, which means you’d have to get within a 1000Hz of your true tinnitus frequency (ERB = 107.94*f +24.7 = 107.94*10 + 24.7 = 1104 Hz).

Many … Continue Reading

John Asks:
What do you mean by the following instructions on the tuner page?
Please note: When you think you have found your tone, check the frequency that is half it, and double it, as these may sound very similar due to a phenomenon known as octave confusion. Pick the one that closest matches your tone.
The reason these instructions were included is due to the concept of octave confusion.

If you tune your tinnitus to 8000 hZ, then try listening at half (4000 hZ) and then double (16,000 hZ). There is a chance either one of these frequencies will sound closer to your … Continue Reading

Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Therapy (also known as rTMS) is a relatively new technology that has been used to treat a variety of brain based disorders, such as depression. It involves using a device to magnetically stimulate the brain non-invasively. Here is a link to an abstract of a paper that found evidence that it can be used to decrease tinnitus volume.

Regrettably, a review paper came to the following conclusion:
There is very limited support for the use of low-frequency rTMS for the treatment of patients with tinnitus. When considering the impact of tinnitus on patients’ quality of life, support is from a single … Continue Reading