Tinnitus Sufferers Hoping Serenade Sound Therapy Can Relieve Ear Ringing

Tinnitus, a condition that causes people to hear sounds such as ringing in the ears even when all is quiet, afflicts at least 10 percent of American adults. Although there’s nothing doctors can do to alleviate this discomfort permanently, new approaches to treating the problem are in the works. One of the latest is a sound-therapy device designed to produce unique tones that distract the wearer’s brain from more irritating sounds. The SoundCure Serenade Tinnitus Treatment System has received a hearty endorsement from the American Tinnitus Association (ATA), which invested $138,000 in the technology’s development and this weekend is hosting a fundraiser in Portland, Ore., to raise additional money for tinnitus research.

SoundCure, a Silicon Valley startup, made the Serenade system available this past March. It is a handheld device with headphones that produces low-frequency modulated sounds the company claims provide more relief than the standard treatment—unmodulated tones or high-pitch white noise. The tones are customized for each patient based on that person’s specific level of tinnitus, although the reprieve is temporary, experienced only when the Serenade is in use.

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2012/06/15/tinnitus-sufferers-hoping-serenade-sound-therapy-can-relieve-ear-ringing/?WT_mc_id=SA_CAT_TECH_20120619