TinniSoothe
TinniSoothe is an audio device using external sound to divert a patient’s attention from the sound of tinnitus.
Treatment details
Type
Education and sound therapy
Safety
Regarded as safe
Efficacy
Some evidence that it is effective
Recommended?
Speak to your GP
Claims for treatment
“We will never claim that we have invented a cure for tinnitus, or even that we have come up a new therapeutic approach. But we have re-imagined an established technique to provide tinnitus relief.
TinniSoothe is a new mode of delivery for sound therapy, or sound enrichment.” [1]
“Used as recommended, TinniSoothe has been designed to be most effective with two of these general mechanisms:
- Distraction: using external sound to divert a patient’s attention from the sound of tinnitus
- Habituation: helping the patient’s brain reclassify tinnitus as an unimportant sound that can and should be consciously ignored.” [1]
What is the treatment?
TinniSoothe is a small wearable device that delivers white noise. The noise is adjustable in volume and frequency. [2]
What are the downsides of this treatment?
If you have hearing loss that is not corrected by hearing aids, then you may not be able to hear the sound emitted by Tinnisoothe, which will render it ineffective.
The TinniSoothe device retails for £369 which is more than some other sound therapy devices.
Has there been research into this treatment?
Research has been undertaken into sound therapy, but not Tinnisoothe specifically. Two studies on Tinnisoothe are planned for 2024.
What does the research say?
‘…we did not find evidence to support or refute the provision of sound therapy as the primary intervention for people with tinnitus. We did not find evidence to suggest that one type of sound therapy device (i.e. hearing aids, sound generator or combination hearing aid) is better than others.’ [3]
Current tinnitus management guidelines do not make strong recommendations regarding use of sound therapy, and personal preference should play a part in the choice of this management option. [4-6]
There is limited evidence to support the use of sound therapy, but some people may find it useful, especially for acute tinnitus relief.
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Give what you canAll online references accessed 3 July 2024 unless noted.
1. TinniSoothe.com It’s only white noise. But not as you know it… https://tinnisoothe.com/science
2. TinniSoothe.com Sound therapy… but not as you know it https://tinnisoothe.com/product
3. Sereda M, Xia J, El Refaie A, Hall DA, Hoare DJ. Sound therapy (using am-plification devices and/or sound generators) for tinnitus. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2018, Issue 12. Art. No.: CD013094. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD013094.pub2
4. Cima RFF, Mazurek B, Haider H et al. A multidisciplinary European guideline for tinnitus: diagnostics, assessment, and treatment. HNO 67 (2019). 10–42 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00106-019-0633-7
5. Tunkel DE, Bauer CA, Sun GH et al. Clinical Practice Guideline: Tinnitus. Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (2014). Vol 151 Issue 2. https://doi.org/10.1177/0194599814545325
6. National Guideline Centre (UK). Tinnitus: assessment and management. (2020). Mar. https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng155