This New Device Can Train Your Brain To Ignore Ear Ringing

Hearing is how the brain processes vibrations around us that create sounds. These sounds are usually external noise like people talking, music, and dogs barking. However, some people experience a high-pitched ringing noise called tinnitus that is an internal sound that can’t be stopped. 

Recently, a new beam of hope was created for those suffering with tinnitus according to GoodNet. This new device has already been approved by the FDA and treats tinnitus in a very odd way, by using your tongue.

Lenire is the name of this new incredible device. It is the first ever bimodal neuromodulation device that is officially approved to treat tinnitus in the US, but it wasn't made in the US. 

The Lenire was created by a Irish company called Neutomod Devices, LTD. The device works by creating mild electrical pulses that go into the user's tongue. During this the user listens to different sounds through headphones that help to stimulate changes in the brain.

In a clinical trial it was found that the Lenire reduced the severity of tinnitus in over 80 percent of participants in a short 12-week trial and this improvement can last for an entire year.

This device works by shifting the user’s attention away from the noise created by tinnitus according to NPR. Brian Fligor is an audiologist who treats those with tinnitus. He became one of the first in the US to use the device.

Fligor told NPR “a good candidate for this device is somebody who's had tinnitus for at least three months.” He also says that those who wish to use the Lenire to treat tinnitus should be evaluated first to make sure that there's no underlying medical condition causing the frustrating noise.