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Tinnitracks is a digital therapy app designed for the treatment of tinnitus through audio therapy. Treatment involves listening to music at specific frequencies that cause a patient's tinnitus to be filtered out.[1] The app is designed to take the music a patient regularly listens to and adapt it to a specified frequency, determined by visiting an ENT specialist, that will help filter out the patient's tinnitus.[2] The software was developed and is marketed by Sonormed GmbH.
| Developer(s) | Sonormed GmbH |
|---|---|
| Type | Health care |
The concept behind this treatment has been developed and researched by the University of Muenster, Germany. Tinnitracks was developed based on this research and provides access to the treatment beyond academic research programs.[3]
Technology
editPatients with tinnitus can use the Tinnitracks software to filter their individual tinnitus frequency from their music songs.[4] By processing a song, the defined frequency is extracted, creating a gap called a "notch" in the frequency profile that covers the exact tinnitus frequency, as well as about an octave around it. Afterwards, the software checks if the audio profile of the song meets the criteria for the tinnitus treatment.[5] Accuracy of frequency measurement is paramount in the process, which is why patients are required to visit ENT specialists or acousticians to create an accurate tinnitus audiogram.[6]
Treatment
editTinnitracks is based on the "Tailor-Made Notched Music Training" ("TMNMT") system.[7][8] This approach uses filtered music to reduce the tinnitus volume. As emphasised by the name, TMNMT ("Tailor-Made"), the importance of individualisation in calibrating the initial set-up is crucial, and refers both to the patient's individual tinnitus frequency profile and the use of the patient's favourite music. By filtering from the music, frequencies which match the frequency profile of the patient's tinnitus, those over-reactive, or misfiring, areas of the auditory cortex become less reactive. The aim is to eliminate the stimulation of those specific cortical areas by filtering out the frequencies that stimulate them.[9]
Awards and recognition
editIt has received some awards,[10] and won several start-up competitions, among them the SXSW Accelerator in the category "Digital Health & Life Sciences Technologies" at the 2015 South by Southwest Interactive Festival.[11]
References
edit- ^ "Tinnitracks application helps to relieve your tinnitus". Hearing Aid Know. 2016-04-20. Retrieved 2022-10-25.
- ^ Fact (2015-03-19). "An app that claims to heal tinnitus is making waves at SXSW". Fact Magazine. Retrieved 2022-10-25.
- ^ Pantev, Christo; Rudack, Claudia; Stein, Alwina; Wunderlich, Robert; Engell, Alva; Lau, Pia; Wollbrink, Andreas; Shaykevich, Alex (2014-03-02). "Study protocol: münster tinnitus randomized controlled clinical trial-2013 based on tailor-made notched music training (TMNMT)". BMC Neurology. 14 (1): 40. doi:10.1186/1471-2377-14-40. ISSN 1471-2377. PMC 3942518. PMID 24581050.
- ^ "When Old Tech Meets Medical Innovation – Meet Tinnitracks". MedCrunch.et. Retrieved 2015-05-07.
- ^ "Tinnitracks – fighting tinnitus with music". Digitalhealthgermany.com. 2014-06-20. Retrieved 2015-05-07.
- ^ "Tinnitracks - TRIAS Verlag - Gesundheit". Thieme.de. Retrieved 2015-05-07.
- ^ "Tailor-Made Notched Music Training - TMNMT". TMNMT.com. Retrieved 2015-05-07.
- ^ Okamoto H, Stracke H, Stoll W, Pantev C (2010). "Listening to tailor-made notched music reduces tinnitus loudness and tinnitus-related auditory cortex activity". Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 107 (3): 1207–10. Bibcode:2010PNAS..107.1207O. doi:10.1073/pnas.0911268107. PMC 2824261. PMID 20080545.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Tinnitracks App Could Heal Hearing Damage and Tinnitus". DJ TechTools. 2015-03-22. Retrieved 2022-10-25.
- ^ "Health & Wellbeing: Tinnitracks wins first Idea Challenge finals". Eitictlabs.eu. Retrieved 2015-05-07.
- ^ Stephanie Baum (15 March 2015). "Update: Which 3 digital health, life science companies made it to SXSW Accelerator Day 2?". MedCityNews.com. Retrieved 2015-05-07.