Cochlearity AB — New Tinnitus Treatment

[ThomasRobert]

Company:
https://www.cochlearity.com/

Country:
Sweden

Patent filed at:
https://www.prv.se/en/

Owner/Investor: Peter Arndt
CEO: Fredrik Westman
COO: Ali Jehanfard

If anyone has any information about this please share...

 

[Nyx]

https://www.medtechmagazine.se/article/view/723146/cochlearity_nytt_medtechbolag_i_coronakrisen

"The company is developing a non-invasive product that will help people with tinnitus by sending sound in the form of white noise into the ear. It will partly consist of an instrument and partly of disposable parts."

 

[ajc]

"The company is developing a non-invasive product that will help people with tinnitus by sending sound in the form of white noise into the ear. It will partly consist of an instrument and partly of disposable parts."

I think Cochlearity AB missed the memo where it said white noise machines belong to 1990s when it comes to treating tinnitus...

Jesus f'king Christ! That company is obsolete from the get go.

 

[ThomasRobert]

Product Development Phase...

 

[josh77]

White noise, yeah, stupid people.

 

[ThomasRobert]

"Preliminary adhesive evaluation"

"The smallest and most flexible tinnitus relief device ever"

(Cochlearity AB 09/20)

 

[lapidus]

"Preliminary adhesive evaluation"

"The smallest and most flexible tinnitus relief device ever"

(Cochlearity AB 09/20)

Looks like the bolts Frankenstein used on his monster.

 

[tommyd87]

Looks like the bolts Frankenstein used on his monster.

Yeah I don't think that this is necessarily a pleasant looking thing to have on you lol.

If it is helpful in the short-term then fantastic, although I think that over time this might not last very long by the looks of it.

 

[GoatSheep]

Not even trying to be funny, it looks like a metal nut inside a rubber gasket with adhesive on the back.

Oh, perhaps that's actually what it is since it says adhesive evaluation??? Because it doesn't look the same as the product development phase photo.

 

[K-F]

What you see (nut and plastic) is a weight aiming to simulate the device which is a part of the product development strategy where user experience is analyzed.

To stay tuned, follow the project on the company's website or on LinkedIn and Facebook.

 

[ajc]

What you see (nut and plastic) is a weight aiming to simulate the device which is a part of the product development strategy where user experience is analyzed.

To stay tuned, follow the project on the company's website or on LinkedIn and Facebook.

Are you involved with Cochlearity AB? Will you be handing out free products for people to test here? When is it going to be launched and what is the price?

 

[HeavyMantra]

It's apparently a bone conduction masking device. I would probably prefer that to a hearing-aid style noise generator. I find those very awkward to use. This one is described as a band-aid placed behind the ear.

Nobody involved in the project seems to have any medical qualifications at all. They seem to be marketing experts? Let's see what the device can do I guess...

 

[K-F]

Yes, I´m involved in the company. As a part of the product development, a number of people with tinnitus will test the device. For various reasons, these should be nearby, i.e. in southern Sweden and we already have many people who are interested.

The design of the device will be completed in early 2021. The goal is that the device is completed and CE marked by December 2021. The price has not been determined yet.

 

[petfriarn]

It's apparently a bone conduction masking device. I would probably prefer that to a hearing-aid style noise generator. I find those very awkward to use. This one is described as a band-aid placed behind the ear.

Nobody involved in the project seems to have any medical qualifications at all. They seem to be marketing experts? Let's see what the device can do I guess...

The technical team behind are the product development company www.oimsweden.com, certified (ISO 13 485) to develop and produce MedTech products.

 

[DebInAustralia]

Yes, I´m involved in the company. As a part of the product development, a number of people with tinnitus will test the device. For various reasons, these should be nearby, i.e. in southern Sweden and we already have many people who are interested.

The design of the device will be completed in early 2021. The goal is that the device is completed and CE marked by December 2021. The price has not been determined yet.

Please explain how this treatment is meant to work?

 

[K-F]

The device is intended to be used to relieve symptoms, either as self-relief or as part of TRT (Tinnitus Retraining Therapy). We have started from accepted research on white noise. Two very small devices is placed with patches behind the ears and transmit white noise through the skull bone.

The person who came up with the idea for the device and who is leading the development work has had tinnitus for a long time. But in 2016, his tinnitus became unbearable so he underwent TRT treatment. But after 6 months he stopped the treatment because it did not work with ear plugs, he got pain in his ears. And there were not other convenient devices. Since he worked for 25 years in medical technology development (microelectronics and micromechanics), he got the idea for a device that should be able to transmit white noise regardless of the time of day; at work, when doing sports and leisure activities, showers, when sleeping, etc. Therefore, the device will be the world's smallest device.

As you probably know, long-term effects can be achieved after listening to white noise 6-8 hours per day for 6-24 months. Based on research reports, we assess that the majority of those affected by tinnitus feel relief after listening to white noise.

You can read more about white noise here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_noise#Tinnitus_treatment

 

[weab00]

The device is intended to be used to relieve symptoms, either as self-relief or as part of TRT (Tinnitus Retraining Therapy). We have started from accepted research on white noise. Two very small devices is placed with patches behind the ears and transmit white noise through the skull bone.

The person who came up with the idea for the device and who is leading the development work has had tinnitus for a long time. But in 2016, his tinnitus became unbearable so he underwent TRT treatment. But after 6 months he stopped the treatment because it did not work with ear plugs, he got pain in his ears. And there were not other convenient devices. Since he worked for 25 years in medical technology development (microelectronics and micromechanics), he got the idea for a device that should be able to transmit white noise regardless of the time of day; at work, when doing sports and leisure activities, showers, when sleeping, etc. Therefore, the device will be the world's smallest device.

As you probably know, long-term effects can be achieved after listening to white noise 6-8 hours per day for 6-24 months. Based on research reports, we assess that the majority of those affected by tinnitus feel relief after listening to white noise.

You can read more about white noise here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_noise#Tinnitus_treatment

That sounds like glorified white noise hearing aids. What's so revolutionary in the way the brain responds to it that we don't already know?

 

[K-F]

There is nothing revolutionary in how the brain responds to white noise with our device. But we know that white noise can have a positive effect on a person's tinnitus if he or she listens to white noise for a long period. The new thing is that the device allows you to treat your tinnitus for many hours a day for many months without the device being an obstacle in everyday life.

What may become revolutionary is our next development project, which we are likely to start in 2021. We have started collaborating with some researchers and we have the information we are looking for. We will start the development of a system that has the potential to relieve tinnitus and even give people with tinnitus the opportunity to manage the level of the tinnitus sound and get control over the situation and give choices that not are given today. It is currently difficult to state when the system is fully developed, but this can be a vital first step to a better solution for people suffering from tinnitus.

 

[ajc]

There is nothing revolutionary in how the brain responds to white noise with our device. But we know that white noise can have a positive effect on a person's tinnitus if he or she listens to white noise for a long period. The new thing is that the device allows you to treat your tinnitus for many hours a day for many months without the device being an obstacle in everyday life.

It has recently been proven continuous white noise therapy is NOT helpful for tinnitus:

Unintended Consequences of White Noise Therapy for Tinnitus—Otolaryngology's Cobra Effect

Conclusions and Relevance: Noise exposure therapies offer a seductive short-term solution for relief but, in the long term, undermine the functional and structural integrity of the central auditory system and the brain more generally. Sound therapies using unstructured, random ("white") noise should be avoided as a treatment for tinnitus. Alternative therapeutics that drive positive, adaptive plastic changes are discussed.

 

[weab00]

There is nothing revolutionary in how the brain responds to white noise with our device. But we know that white noise can have a positive effect on a person's tinnitus if he or she listens to white noise for a long period. The new thing is that the device allows you to treat your tinnitus for many hours a day for many months without the device being an obstacle in everyday life.

You mean like white noise hearing aids? The road to curing tinnitus is going to end up being biological regeneration. TRT-related protocols should've been left in the 90's.

 

[Pitseleh]

The new thing is that the device allows you to treat your tinnitus for many hours a day for many months without the device being an obstacle in everyday life.

You don't "treat" tinnitus

 

[Jazzer]

I will never feed extra noise into my ears.
My instinct (i.e. my favourite doctor) tells me it is wrong.
I don't care who recommends it.
It makes no sense - unless you also want to become a mental patient!

 

[weab00]

You don't "treat" tinnitus

He himself said that there's nothing revolutionary about the product. I think that's enough said.

 

[Pitseleh]

We have had enough marketing specialists try sell us stuff all over the years, seriously.

 

[Jazzer]