MuteButton
- Thread starter Jim
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I never really understood this mute button thing... can anybody explain who it is meant to work please? I know it's also some kind of neuromodulation ... but does the T has to be tonal? maybe someone can explain 
They have a pretty good video on their website explaining it. (scroll down on the left of the page)
mutebutton is an innovative new tinnitus treatment that simultaneously presents sound to the senses of hearing and touch.
Pay good attention to her last statement that says `...imaginary sound will be suppressed and simply fade away`
So I do not think T has to be pure tonal, any imaginary perception of sound will `be suppressed and simply fade away` because if this thing works the brain can differentiate between the `shape` and rythm of frequencies - so how I understand it is with the basic knowledge of electricity and speaker amplification. The sound you hear through a speaker comes about through electric signals. the membrane moves with every impuls and creates sound because it moves the air. So if you would have a constant electrical input in a speaker you would hear a hum. this is perceivable when you turn your amplifier to max without playing music. you will hear the electricity that is running through the machine constantly. bzzzzzzzz ... Same is with T. our brain`s neurons are releasing electricity, and I read somwhere that with T they do this in a synchronised and constant manner. That is where you have this `cricket` experience like is shown in the mutebutton video. Constant and synchronised. So what this device will do is it will connect audio signals (transformed into electrical singals in the brain) and electrical impulses in the mouth that have the same amplitude and rythm as the audio coming in. So what this will do in the brain is that the brain will distinguish that the synchronized firing of neurons isn`t the strongest input, not as strong as mouth and ear together, and this will be suppressed `... and simply fade away`
Let`s hope it does
mutebutton is an innovative new tinnitus treatment that simultaneously presents sound to the senses of hearing and touch.
Pay good attention to her last statement that says `...imaginary sound will be suppressed and simply fade away`
So I do not think T has to be pure tonal, any imaginary perception of sound will `be suppressed and simply fade away` because if this thing works the brain can differentiate between the `shape` and rythm of frequencies - so how I understand it is with the basic knowledge of electricity and speaker amplification. The sound you hear through a speaker comes about through electric signals. the membrane moves with every impuls and creates sound because it moves the air. So if you would have a constant electrical input in a speaker you would hear a hum. this is perceivable when you turn your amplifier to max without playing music. you will hear the electricity that is running through the machine constantly. bzzzzzzzz ... Same is with T. our brain`s neurons are releasing electricity, and I read somwhere that with T they do this in a synchronised and constant manner. That is where you have this `cricket` experience like is shown in the mutebutton video. Constant and synchronised. So what this device will do is it will connect audio signals (transformed into electrical singals in the brain) and electrical impulses in the mouth that have the same amplitude and rythm as the audio coming in. So what this will do in the brain is that the brain will distinguish that the synchronized firing of neurons isn`t the strongest input, not as strong as mouth and ear together, and this will be suppressed `... and simply fade away`
Let`s hope it does
neuromod devices website:
Neuromod Devices was founded in 2010 to develop novel and innovative neurostimulation technologies for the treatment of unaddressed neurological conditions.
Since its incorporation, the company has developed a stable platform technology for the rapid development and evaluation of novel neuromodulatory interventions and certified it to the highest international technical medical standards. This core technology will form the basis for a pipeline of new products that address high-value market opportunities.
The company launches its first product 'mutebutton' (www.mutebutton.ie), a novel tinnitus treatment, early next year and is working with commercial and clinical partners to develop a strong pipeline of promising new products.
2014: mutebutton (for tinnitus)
Mutebutton is a revolutionary treatment for tinnitus, an audiological / neurological condition that afflicts over 40M people in the developed world. Tinnitus is predominantly caused by hearing loss and is most commonly described as 'ringing in the ears'. Mutebutton was developed in collaboration with teams of leading neuroscientists, ENT surgeons and clinical audiologists that are based in Irish universities and hospitals. The product will be launched in the UK and Ireland in early 2014.
Neuromod Devices was founded in 2010 to develop novel and innovative neurostimulation technologies for the treatment of unaddressed neurological conditions.
Since its incorporation, the company has developed a stable platform technology for the rapid development and evaluation of novel neuromodulatory interventions and certified it to the highest international technical medical standards. This core technology will form the basis for a pipeline of new products that address high-value market opportunities.
The company launches its first product 'mutebutton' (www.mutebutton.ie), a novel tinnitus treatment, early next year and is working with commercial and clinical partners to develop a strong pipeline of promising new products.
2014: mutebutton (for tinnitus)
Mutebutton is a revolutionary treatment for tinnitus, an audiological / neurological condition that afflicts over 40M people in the developed world. Tinnitus is predominantly caused by hearing loss and is most commonly described as 'ringing in the ears'. Mutebutton was developed in collaboration with teams of leading neuroscientists, ENT surgeons and clinical audiologists that are based in Irish universities and hospitals. The product will be launched in the UK and Ireland in early 2014.
Early 2014 - that's very soon. The 'button' part sounds a bit like the 'tap the backside of your skull'-tricks. I wonder if it's meant for permanent suppresion or temporary relief.
Edit: Oh, I can just use their website. The Device | mutebutton is an innovative new tinnitus treatment that simultaneously presents sound to the senses of hearing and touch.
waaaaait, have they ever tried mute button on a human being? they will launch it in 2014 before having done any studies in patients? It sounds good but to me it also sounds a little bit too easy, I consider T a pretty complex brain disorder.
mh... tinnitus just fading away, too good to be true, eh?
They have done test some time ago, it`s been going on for some years already. I edited my text above and wrote a s `simple` explanation for you.
'This device delivers mild electrical pulses to the nerve endings in the tongue. mutebutton is intended to be used for at least 20 mins per day and over the course of weeks and months, has been clinically shown to significantly reduce the loudness of the tinnitus sound and the associated stress.'
It sounds a bit suspicious. A bit too good to be true. Especially the formulation 'AND the associated stress'. It could be helping with the stress only and thereby 'reducing' the perception of the volume. That would make it the same as acupuncture, yoga, relaxation techniques etc.
I see, thanks to you guys, let's hope for the best
Although I think if id had really helped patients during the studies we would have heard about it right now. it would probably be all over the media...
Although I think if id had really helped patients during the studies we would have heard about it right now. it would probably be all over the media...
All these pure tonal T treatments. I think I have a pretty pure tone as sort of the the main sound. If this treatment could remove 1/4 sounds it would still be good?
Maybe we have to treat each sound individually lol
Maybe we have to treat each sound individually lol
forgive me if i`m wrong but I think they use like sounds of nature. The only thing they try to achieve is to have the auditory cortex distinguish between normal sound waves and the synchronized Tinnitus one. So it does n`t really matter what you hear I think. So it would solve all T with one device.
sounds like heaven
Really! I never thought about heaven as a quiet place before I got T. But if I am going to have an afterlife, it better be quiet!
Yesterday I read about a guy who has been in solitary confinement for 28 years. One of the things he described was about the lamps in his cell that buzzed:
' In addition, the bright, artificial lights remained on in the cell constantly, increasing my disorientation and making it difficult to sleep. Not only were they constantly illuminated, but those lights buzzed incessantly. The buzzing noise was maddening, as there often were no other sounds at all. This may sound like a small thing, but it was my entire world.' (America's Most Isolated Federal Prisoner Describes 10,220 Days in Extreme Solitary Confinement - Solitary Watch)
I think we understand.
- May 20, 2013
- 394
- Tinnitus Since
- April 2013
- Cause of Tinnitus
- Maybe loud music. Not sure.
Just listened to it and thought i'd up this thread as it's quite an interesting interview
This looks very interesting. I actually stumbled upon the MuteButton website a couple months back by mistake. It's kind of fishy that we haven't heard all that much about it, but the science behind it definitely make sense to me. Either way, it's awesome that all these new attempts for treatment keep emerging. While not all of them work, it's good that scientists are figuring out what doesn't work. As Thomas A. Edison said, "I have not failed, I have just found 10,000 ways that won't work." That being said, I sure hope this is the device that can give us some peace haha
No, he didn't, I wanted to post a link to the thread but it doesn't work, you will only get to the log in page... so anyways I copied his post for you, I hope that that's okay, so here comes what Bill from the yuku Tinnitus board says about the trial:
- May 20, 2013
- 394
- Tinnitus Since
- April 2013
- Cause of Tinnitus
- Maybe loud music. Not sure.
The thing is, I could not find one single report of someone who said it had helped and what Bill says about the data collection being unprofessional also doesn't help. Seems like just another rip off to put super fast on the market and sell to make loads of money with desperate tinnitus sufferers to me
The founder of mudebutton speak the 23 nov.in Irish tinnitus corb.I think it can not only Work for a few.It wil either Work for nobody(a big flob)or for many,our brains are not so different.The question would then be how much.
If something is guaranteed to cure my tinnitus, money won't be anything but green paper to me.
Of course, if you don't have the money it isn't that easy, but I think I have enough for whatever. Most Europens do.
Then again, if something is guaranteed to work, the government will start including it in the public health care so it's not really relevant.
My point is I would gladly live 5 or 8 years in (a Norwegian) prison if that cured my ears (not if I had to have T during the stay though, double torture!)
I would just read, write and work out and listen to music for 8 years.
Of course, if you don't have the money it isn't that easy, but I think I have enough for whatever. Most Europens do.
Then again, if something is guaranteed to work, the government will start including it in the public health care so it's not really relevant.
My point is I would gladly live 5 or 8 years in (a Norwegian) prison if that cured my ears (not if I had to have T during the stay though, double torture!)
I would just read, write and work out and listen to music for 8 years.
I too am hopeful for success with MuteButton and any other similar products. If it helps only 30% of those afflicted, that will be a huge success. Unfortunately, I see tinnitus being dealt with much the same as mental illness in the medical community. Basically, they don't know crap about it. The brain is the least understood organ in the body. They know so little, that it just stifles efforts to find a cure! So any effort like MuteButton should be welcomed by all of us.
I sometimes think that the only relief for "T" will be found by accident. That is why these forums are so important.
I sometimes think that the only relief for "T" will be found by accident. That is why these forums are so important.
It's too bad about that post by Bill. MuteButton is actually based on solid science, though I'm certainly not one to say whether or not it's being well applied here.
There's a book the nurse at the Hyperbaric center I went to early on gave me. It's called "The Brain That Changes Itself - Stories of personal triumph from the frontiers of brain science". She told me to read chapter 1 (the whole book is fascinating though).
Anyway, chapter 1 is called "A woman perpetually falling". It tells the terrible story of a woman who was given antibiotics in the hospital at too high a dosage and it destroyed her inner ear. She lost all sense of balance and equilibrium - 99% of her vestibular system was destroyed. She wasn't just stumbling, she would fall, and when she fell she would still feel like she was falling. No driving, no walking, no sitting, no reading - everything spun all the time. Quote: " 'What do you feel when you've fallen?' I asked her. 'Does the sense of falling go away once you've landed?' 'There have been times,' says Cheryl, 'when I literally lose the sense of the feeling of the floor...and an imaginary trapdoor opens up and swallows me.' Even when she has fallen, she feels she is still falling, into an infinite abyss."
So, seems grim, BUT Cheryl meets an incredible doctor named Paul Bach-y-Rita, who studied and argued for the concept of neuroplasticity back when scientists thought it was a joke, ended up saving the day. He created a device that sent small electric signals to different parts of her tongue to signal direction while other impulses were sent to her brain. It's meant to replace her vestibular system with her tongue - teach one sense to help compensate for the loss of another.
Long story short (but really read the book - or at least the chapter - it's a good solid read by Norman M. Doidge, MD), this little apparatus eventually cured Cheryl. After each treatment, the effects lasted a little longer until her brain had completely reorganized itself. This after she was told by doctors "It's permanent".
Reading that chapter I could feel the same hopelessness I have often felt and some hope, too. Even "permanent" things can be cured. It just takes one good doctor with a crazy idea. Paul Bach-y-Rita also had amazing experiments with helping the blind to "see" (in their brains, not w/their eyes), and completely rehabilitated his father from what was supposed to be vegetable-state inducing stroke. Unfortunately, Paul passed away - but this mute button stuff sounds like it might be on the same path - so maybe not so crazy.
Sorry I write such long posts Just seemed like it might give other people a little hope!
There's a book the nurse at the Hyperbaric center I went to early on gave me. It's called "The Brain That Changes Itself - Stories of personal triumph from the frontiers of brain science". She told me to read chapter 1 (the whole book is fascinating though).
Anyway, chapter 1 is called "A woman perpetually falling". It tells the terrible story of a woman who was given antibiotics in the hospital at too high a dosage and it destroyed her inner ear. She lost all sense of balance and equilibrium - 99% of her vestibular system was destroyed. She wasn't just stumbling, she would fall, and when she fell she would still feel like she was falling. No driving, no walking, no sitting, no reading - everything spun all the time. Quote: " 'What do you feel when you've fallen?' I asked her. 'Does the sense of falling go away once you've landed?' 'There have been times,' says Cheryl, 'when I literally lose the sense of the feeling of the floor...and an imaginary trapdoor opens up and swallows me.' Even when she has fallen, she feels she is still falling, into an infinite abyss."
So, seems grim, BUT Cheryl meets an incredible doctor named Paul Bach-y-Rita, who studied and argued for the concept of neuroplasticity back when scientists thought it was a joke, ended up saving the day. He created a device that sent small electric signals to different parts of her tongue to signal direction while other impulses were sent to her brain. It's meant to replace her vestibular system with her tongue - teach one sense to help compensate for the loss of another.
Long story short (but really read the book - or at least the chapter - it's a good solid read by Norman M. Doidge, MD), this little apparatus eventually cured Cheryl. After each treatment, the effects lasted a little longer until her brain had completely reorganized itself. This after she was told by doctors "It's permanent".
Reading that chapter I could feel the same hopelessness I have often felt and some hope, too. Even "permanent" things can be cured. It just takes one good doctor with a crazy idea. Paul Bach-y-Rita also had amazing experiments with helping the blind to "see" (in their brains, not w/their eyes), and completely rehabilitated his father from what was supposed to be vegetable-state inducing stroke. Unfortunately, Paul passed away - but this mute button stuff sounds like it might be on the same path - so maybe not so crazy.
Sorry I write such long posts
Just seemed like it might give other people a little hope!Hey All,
I wrote the mute button people just to see what was going on with them. They seem to be under the umbrella of a two year old incorporation now (neuromoddevices.com) - according to to the email address I heard back from, which may or may not be a good thing. (Seems like it could mean, along with Bill's review, that it could be more business than medical - still, they have to have some faith in being able to sell it, so maybe it's helping some people.)
Anyway, here is our very brief exchange. It doesn't inspire a great deal of confidence, but still, it's better news that "this round seems to have gone kind of well-ish and we have 7 more rounds of clinical trials over the next 8 years before we can even think about releasing this to the public."
To: info@mutebutton.ie
Hello there,
I was just wondering how your clinical trials were going - any success? I've had tinnitus for about 7 months and just thought I'd check in on what seems to be a promising innovation.
When, if the trials are successful, do you see this being offered to the public?
Thank you for taking the time to respond.
From: info@neuromoddevices.com
Hello,
Trials were successful and significant. Hoping to launch in UK/Ireland in June 2014.
Rgds
Caroline
I wrote the mute button people just to see what was going on with them. They seem to be under the umbrella of a two year old incorporation now (neuromoddevices.com) - according to to the email address I heard back from, which may or may not be a good thing. (Seems like it could mean, along with Bill's review, that it could be more business than medical - still, they have to have some faith in being able to sell it, so maybe it's helping some people.)
Anyway, here is our very brief exchange. It doesn't inspire a great deal of confidence, but still, it's better news that "this round seems to have gone kind of well-ish and we have 7 more rounds of clinical trials over the next 8 years before we can even think about releasing this to the public."
To: info@mutebutton.ie
Hello there,
I was just wondering how your clinical trials were going - any success? I've had tinnitus for about 7 months and just thought I'd check in on what seems to be a promising innovation.
When, if the trials are successful, do you see this being offered to the public?
Thank you for taking the time to respond.
From: info@neuromoddevices.com
Hello,
Trials were successful and significant. Hoping to launch in UK/Ireland in June 2014.
Rgds
Caroline
- May 20, 2013
- 394
- Tinnitus Since
- April 2013
- Cause of Tinnitus
- Maybe loud music. Not sure.
It's funny how they don't publish any information regarding trials, etc ... but if it works, who cares
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