If you’re one of the 10-15% of Americans who suffer from tinnitus, you know how annoying, disabling, or even life-altering it can be, with constant ringing, hissing, buzzing, or other sounds filling the silence in your ear. It is said that the incidence of tinnitus is on the rise and that each year, millions of Americans develop it. It can be a temporary affliction or it can be permanent, and its causes are not completely understood. A recent study published in Nature Scientific Reports reports that damage to the cochlear nerve may be one cause of tinnitus. It’s not really a condition on its own but rather a symptom of other conditions, including hearing loss, head injury, stress, medication, or exposure to loud noises. In fact, a recent study published in BMJ Public Health linked excessive noise from video game playing as a factor in some tinnitus cases. What health consequences can happen as a result of tinnitus? While it is not fatal, it can cause serious disturbances in quality of life, with such side effects as sleep deprivation, anxiety, stress, or depression.

To date, there are no cures for tinnitus. Some have proposed that the use of zinc supplements might ease the symptoms experienced, but the data on this is very weak and inconsistent, and certainly, no one should try zinc supplements on their own without consultation with a physician. But there do now appear to be some promising treatments on the horizon that are less about curing the tinnitus and more about distracting or retraining the brain to pay less attention to the noise experienced. Research published in Frontiers in Audiology and Otology describes the development of a smartphone app that provides cognitive behavioral therapy through a chatbot, along with sound and mindfulness therapy, to allow the brain to “tune out” the sounds produced by tinnitus. The app is now available and it’s called MindEar. While it’s not a complete solution to the problem, it may allay anxiety and stress that can accompany tinnitus and thus help your brain disconnect from the stress-inducing sounds. To find out more about this development and app, click here and here.

The Washington Post also recently reported on another development in addressing tinnitus, this one using a new type of treatment called bimodal neuromodulation, a strategy to shift your brain’s attention away from the phantom sounds that come as a result of tinnitus. Two different devices are coming to market that use this type of strategy and that may now be available from an audiologist or even directly to consumers (though you should never try the device without consultation with your physician). There is one system called Lenire which you may be able to access through an audiologist’s office, and there is another system called Duo which involves a phone app and a wristband. While neither of these systems will “cure” your tinnitus, they may go a long way toward lessening the incessant noise in your ears that can truly disrupt your life. Finally, since tinnitus is often connected to hearing loss, you may be interested to know that certain hearing aids are considered preferential if your hearing loss also involves tinnitus. Take a look at some of the hearing aid recommendations here.