SoundCure Serenade Tinnitus Treatment System

[mike]

Mike, Thanks for your update. How long have you been using the device now? I gave it a free trial for about 3 weeks, and had the same experience.

Kevin, Thank you for providing additional information to us about Soundcure. I tried the device, and wasn't ready to give up on it, even though it did not do anything for my tinnitus. However, the cost was just too high for me to consider purchasing it for a possible future benefit. I agree with Click that the device is really high-priced for what it is. If Soundcure could bring the cost down, those of us with tinnitus might be more willing to buy.

About 2 months now. I am still going to give it a try. I got it through the VA. Has not cost anything yet. I dont think it is going to. I think if I had to pay for it ,I would give it back.I have not used it everyday. Maybe i should but on the low days i am alright for the most part.

 

[Karen]

Mike,
I'm glad you're not giving up on the device just yet. You're lucky that you haven't had to pay for it; I probably would have kept it if it didn't cost so much! Thanks again for the update. Also, I'm glad to hear you're having some low tinnitus days. That's good news!

 

[Louise]

Hi Karen,
I work for SoundCure here in the UK and I am responsible for introducing Serenade, our customised sound therapy system into this market. We are working with knowledgeable providers who have deep understanding of tinnitus. The S-Tones in the device have been researched and developed independently at the University of California - we are simply bringing it to market. We are slowly raising our public profile now that all of our providers are getting good levels of success with Serenade. S-Tones have been shown to be more effective (x4) than traditional stimuli used in sound therapy and you should be using the device at a level significantly lower than your tinnitus. In the short term you may experience some relief from your tinnitus but your tinnitus may be still be present, in the longer term you may experience short windows of relief for a few hours/days or even total suppression. These periods may increase over a period of time. Some patients report a significant reduction in their symptoms quite quickly, for others it takes more time. The key is to play the sounds at a very low level (tracks 1 or 2 are more preferable) and try to put your tinnitus in the background rather than to focus on it or the S-Tones being played.

Serenade can be programmed to 12Khz and we use extensively researched earphones. There is a dedicated algorithm within the device. Serenade was launched in the US last April (2012) and our Clinical Director is the former Director of The Tinnitus Clinic at the University for California where the S-Tones were discovered. The SoundCure Story on YOU Tube will give you a quick overview of how the technology was developed..

I have 18 years experience in the UK hearing care sector and I am excited to be involved with SoundCure as I know from my previous experiences of running a medium sized muti-practice hearing care company that we were missing a customised device for those who have bothersome tinnitus. I also like the company ethics - we want to work with good providers for the benefit of the patient..

Hope this has shared some additional background ..

Best wishes
Kevin Carlyon

Hi Kevin,

I have had the Soundcure device for some time now but have had to discontinue use of it.

Is the sole point of the device to make habituation faster? When I first acquired it I was under the impression its function was to change neuronal synchronisation/mapping. However in the box the documentation only speaks of habituation. Is the point of it that its 4x faster in helping habituation than wearable white noise generators for instance?

You mention the earphones are extensively researched but for me this is one of the worst features of the device as those earbuds occlude the ear. This means that if you wear the device then anything else you listen to is muffled giving the sensation of hearing loss/additional hearing loss. This is the exact opposite of what is needed for tinnitus sufferers.

Louise.

 

[Scot Frink]

Hi all. This is my first post with this group and I'm actually seeking feedback on a different way to work with Serenade. I not only have tinnitus, but I'm an audiologist as well. The product has worked well for me (best for me to test it on myself before I present it as a viable option for the consumer.

I was particularly attracted to Serenade because of previous experience with the Neuromonics Oasis. While proven an effective option for tinnitus sufferers, it comes with a hefty price. My primary problem with it was the distribution model: $5,000 for something that only works about 60% of the time, dependent on the patient. With its physical design and my experience with programmable hearing aids, why couldn't it be something that was reprogrammable by me the practitioner? Since it wasn't, I kept Oasis as only an option for extreme cases and the desperate. My integrity, however, often kept me from truly recommending it because 60% to me is not successful enough for a patient to shell out $5k and get stuck with it.

Serenade, however, is programmable by me, and actually offers a fairly comprehensive and well-thought system for doing it. This being the case, the patient would be less likely to get stuck with it. Cost-wise, it was a bit more palatable at $2,000, but still somewhat intimidating for a patient who might ask "what if it doesn't work?"

So, the alternative distribution idea I had was to lease the product rather than sell it. It would work like this: (1) the client first pays an $800 deposit, an commits to a 3-month trial period with it where "his" cost is $200 per month, payment not due until the end of the first month. After three months if it doesn't work for "him," he can return it, get a refund on the deposit, and only be out $600. Maybe after three months the treatment will be successful enough he doesn't need it any longer. Or he can continue to use it, paying $200 per month until we reach 8 months. At that point he will have paid $1,600 plus the $800 deposit for a total of $2,400. This would be the end of the lease, and he could either return it (in good condition) or finalize the purchase by commuting the deposit to a final "buy-out" fee. It would cost him $400 more than an outright purchase at $2,000, but I as the practitioner have essentially been financing it.

We have yet to implement this option, mainly because I haven't had a new client who could benefit from Serenade since I came up with this concept. But I would be intrigued by feedback from this group about the "Lease" as an option.

 

[James White]

Hi Scot and welcome to the forum,

I have to say i personally think both Serenade and Neuromonics are too expensive.

What is the difference between a $10 mp3 player and the serenade player ? None.

If Serenade generated low cost mp3s instead of their proprietary solution, more people may be interested in it.

And by low cost, i mean less than $100. I understand there was research behind this but everyone can suffer from tinnitus, not only rich people !

 

[Louise]

Hi Scot,

I like your lease idea. Its much fairer than the existing payment option where you pay the full £1900 and only get 3 weeks to decide whether you want to return it for a refund minus £200. What would become of the returned devices? Does this mean that a person could receive a device someone else had used for 3 months? I personally wouldn't like that (even though I know the ear pieces would be new).

I myself had the Serenade. It didn't do a thing for me, except give me tinnitus in my previously unaffected right ear because I only used the device in my left (which my audiologist knew by the way).

I also hate those occluding ear-buds. They should have made an open-fit earpiece. Its also not possible to pitch-match the ears separately and so therefore how can it be set correctly for the tinnitus in both ears?

I was sold this device on the premise that it would break up neuronal activity that was causing the tinnitus. There was nothing in the literature in the box which refers to this. It only states that it is an aid to habituation. How it is an aid to habituation I have no idea.

James - I don't agree with your point. Its not just the MP3 Player you're paying for its the research and development behind the sounds that are on the device.

 

[Markku]

It's off-putting that many of these sound therapy devices are so expensive. Thousands of dollars for what looks like a simple audio player. Neuromonics, SoundCure, ANM Neurostimulator...

Yes, R&D is expensive, but can it be this expensive? Do these companies investigate the option of making a treatment cheaper, thus available to more people (and maybe in the end getting even more revenue when more can afford it)?

Welcome to the forums Scot. Always nice to get a professional on board.

One thing that strike me:
I was particularly attracted to Serenade because of previous experience with the Neuromonics Oasis. While proven an effective option for tinnitus sufferers, it comes with a hefty price. My primary problem with it was the distribution model: $5,000 for something that only works about 60% of the time, dependent on the patient.

Would you mind taking a look at this: https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/neuromonics.1378/#post-10650

What do you think about that study?

Regarding SoundCure, I have a feeling it's much the same as Neuromonics and Acoustic CR neuromodulation. Not many seem to get any benefit; and those who notice improvements, it's impossible to say without further studies whether the same effect would have been seen with other - much cheaper - sound / masking techniques. It will take a while until the ACR study results are published (2014, 2015?), and we'll know more about that then.

I personally do like your lease idea. To shell out thousands of dollars for nothing would be excruciating. Losing $600 over three months' use wouldn't be nearly as bad.

Markku

 

[Steve]

Hi Scot,

I agree with bits of each. I think it's great that you are offering a payment plan and a lease / return if the device doesn't work for the patient, it's nice to see somebody with enough confidence in a product to do this. It can potentially save a lot of money for somebody wanting to try the treatment so I applaud you for that.

But as James says it is just a proprietary device that could be delivered at a much lower cost to more people via a simple app or program generating audio files - plenty of money could still be made by mass delivery of the system if the developers had even a small social conscience, and the confidence that their product would stand up to the scrutiny of a large audience. Both James and I are audio specialists / geeks so we know that we can develop, produce and synthesise a treatment like this quite easily ourselves, therefore it makes it hard for us to accept the high product cost.

Although as Louise rightly says there is a lot of research behind it that costs a lot of money. I may be wrong here (happy to be corrected if I am), but did the below ATA funded research not lead on to the development of the Serenade device?
Fan-Gang Zeng, Ph.D., University of California, Irvine, California
Research Project: Tinnitus Suppression
Roadmap Paths: C, D
Funded: Grant renewal; 2nd year of 2-year project; $50,000 (Year 1: $88,006; Total: $138,006)
"One misperception is that, except for masking tinnitus, for instance with music, tinnitus does not interact with external sounds. In our opinion, this misperception has severely limited our options in treating and potentially curing tinnitus. Different from masking, which typically requires a masker to have higher intensity and similar pitch to the tinnitus, tinnitus suppressioncan occur with sounds that are softer and potentially more pleasant than the tinnitus. The novel aspect of our research is to understand interaction between tinnitus and external sounds, using acoustic and electrical stimulation, with a particular focus on searching for external sounds that can effectively suppress tinnitus.

 

[Louise]

It was the ATA that funded it Steve. I lost £1000 on it and when I was out of work. But then if it had worked for me that would have been a very small price to pay wouldn't it? Most of us would sell our kidneys to be able to afford a cure

I think that it's only the lure of making money out of tinnitus that will eventually get us a cure/treatment. So let them keep selling this stuff at a high price, then more companies will be interested in getting involved in finding a cure/treatment.
I certainly don't agree with profiteering out of people's suffering but that unfortunately is the world we live in. If the Soundcure could only ever have been sold for $100 then it wouldn't even exist and the research would not have been done.

 

[ramnaz]

Hello All- I have been on the Sound Cure for 3 weeks now but the ATA says they have given a big grant to Sound Cure & they are backing it so to me anyone Intersted in sound cure should write to the ATA about it.. Also the ATA told me to stick with it for at least 6 months as they have found it does work for 60 to 90 % of the people who have been using it..
Hope this helps some of the questions out there

 

[inadmin]

hi, were you told how was the device helpful to 60-90% of the people who have been using it?

 

[Steve]

Hello All- I have been on the Sound Cure for 3 weeks now but the ATA says they have given a big grant to Sound Cure & they are backing it so to me anyone Intersted in sound cure should write to the ATA about it.. Also the ATA told me to stick with it for at least 6 months as they have found it does work for 60 to 90 % of the people who have been using it..
Hope this helps some of the questions out there

Interesting, do they have something official on their site saying this? And is there research data to support the 60%-90% figure, I imagine the ATA should be fairly diligent on the quality of the data if they are quoting figures?

 

[jazz]

Hello All- I have been on the Sound Cure for 3 weeks now but the ATA says they have given a big grant to Sound Cure & they are backing it so to me anyone Intersted in sound cure should write to the ATA about it.. Also the ATA told me to stick with it for at least 6 months as they have found it does work for 60 to 90 % of the people who have been using it..
Hope this helps some of the questions out there

Thanks for the information!

SoundCure and Neuromonics suffer from the same problems: a high cost and very little objective information that these treatments actually work. I believe only one study exists for SoundCure, and it concluded (I'm paraphrasing) that it worked well for about one third; worked somewhat for another third; and did not work at all for the final third. Such stats do not inspire people to purchase the treatment, especially when many people on tinnitus boards report the treatment actually worsened their tinnitus.

Neuromonics did conduct three clinical trials, and they reported good results. But I've read about problems with the trials. Specifically, the trials' objectivity was questioned as the Neuromonics people were very involved with the testing. And, like with SoundCure, you rarely find positive responses on the tinnitus boards, but you do find a plethora of negative information--where people's tinnitus actually worsened.

How to engender trust in the tinnitus population is a complicated problem, of course. Obviously, what we read on the tinnitus boards is helpful, but it's very possible that only dissatisfied people feel motivated enough to write about their experiences. Pain, after all, is an emotion more powerful than happiness. And so either or both treatments might offer decent success rates--but those satisfied customers are just happy to get their lives back and thus are not looking to write about their experiences.

Another problem is the nature of all sound therapy. First, it's debatable whether or not sound therapy actually "cures" tinnitus. Since it only affects the brain's reaction to a damaged auditory system, sound therapy facilitates habituation--something that is better than nothing, but is only a bandaid that might be ripped off in the future with a further auditory insult.

Second, sound therapy only works on a percentage of people. That percentage is debatable, but it's indisputable that for many people sound therapy actually worsens their tinnitus. And nothing is more scary for tinnitus sufferers than a worsening of their noise. Just this thought might cause a spike in some people. Perhaps, a test might be developed to determine if the sound therapy should work or not. At the minimum, a test might help determine if the therapy might worsen someone's tinnitus.

Third, insurance coverage is a major issue for most people. This is true for sound therapies and hearing aids. Like sound therapies, hearing aids are expensive and generally not covered in the US by insurance. Unlike sound therapies, hearing aids won't worsen anyone's tinnitus and will probably improve it. A body of literature exists that supports tinnitus improvement, though unfortunately the research is not as robust as it should be.

To encourage wider acceptance of sound therapy, therefore, all these issues need to be addressed. Developing a screening test to determine if sound therapy should be efficacious--or at least not deleterious--should be developed by sound therapy companies. Next, the trial period and pricing structures should be addressed. Increasing the trial period--from one month to three months--might be a good strategy. One month, in general, is not long enough to evaluate a sound therapy; after three months, however, a person will achieve some improvement--if they are going to improve at all. Finally, offering lower prices and better financing is a necessity since it's unlikely insurance companies will cover sound therapy in the near future. Lowering the entry price is what the ATA is trying to do with SoundCure. And, though you may question why the ATA is doing this (a subject for another post), their help might enable some people to benefit from the technology who would otherwise not have tried it.

I personally am not defending sound therapies; I'll never use them as many sounds irritate my tinnitus. But I do believe they help some people. And so it's necessary that the sound therapy companies reevaluate their screening, pricing and marketing strategies to encourage more people to try these technologies.

BTW, everything I wrote about is probably applicable to CR Neuromodulation. Though their trials might be more robust--i.e., producing verifiable and reproducible changes--we know from this board the therapy is not for everyone. It will be interesting to see how this therapy is priced and marketed.

 

[EricMI]

My first post here and I came across it while looking into the Serenade. This is long and unfortunately I believe will not apply to a lot of people here, but I do believe the concept of the Serenade is sound.

My tinnitus's original cause is up in the air. Several months before it came on full every once in a great while I'd get a tone which I'd say was a .5 on 10 scale. It took a lot to notice it but then once did it kept me thinking about it, happened 4-5 times.

After using a router in a confined space I had a mild ringing. I do not believe that my full tinnitus was caused by the usage. Having gone through a massive amount of trouble I believe it partially to be TTS, or a psychological reaction that causes a physical reaction that makes it louder.

The very mild ring after using the router might have gone away in 24-48 hours but I got obsessive about it and it got worse and worse. I had my hearing tested, absolutely perfect. Found wax build up, 8 days of drops, noise 90 percent gone. Go get my ears cleaned out, noise up to a 6 out of 10. Today I believe that was the TTS, I felt my entire face tighten up when they did the cleaning, if you've never had one done it is quite loud and I reacted to it.

Saw a neuromuscular therapist several times and had huge success. I went up and down until I got the point of acclimating to it say at around a 2-3 out of 10.

Had a huge flair up and sought out another neuro therapist. I had hit a wall with the previous one. She worked more on the lymphatic part. She said there was excessive build up of fluid in the ear, from not noticeable to extremely noticeable. I did 3 treatments in 3 days and by the 3rd day had almost complete relief. I was heading to a jet engine boat race after my last treatment, by the time I got there and put on ear protection I could not perceive any noise at all. I always can with ear protection. I shoot a lot and that is one thing I found difficult in shooting was not paying attention to the tinnitus because with ear protection I for sure hear it 100 percent of the time.

Now several months later I see her on an on/off basis when needed. I have it so manageable I do not notice it most of the time.

This weekend I went to a NHRA drag race, double ear protection, plugs plus over the ear. However top fuel dragsters are a sound unlike anything else, no real data but upwards of 170db. It was not the sound but the massive pressure. You can feel your organs moving around in your body from the pressure. I was fine all day long but the last run of the night something popped and it was 8 out of 10.

I felt fluid build up in the ear but my therapist is 1,000 miles away at home.

Panic set in again as this being permanent when all my previous episodes have shown its not. Low deep sounds tend to set it off but I do not curtail my exposure because I know its not going to be permanent. This however was something new and I'm just settling down 2 days after it happened. The volume rises and falls so I'm more confident it will go back once I get home and see my therapist.

So how does all of this apply to the Serenade? In my panic I started to search for possible new cures and came across the device. Way back when this first started I downloaded one of the iPhone apps and played around with tones. Much to my surprise it worked, noise was gone, stayed gone for about 90 seconds, then returned. I gave up on the idea because of the short term effect and not understanding how it would work.

Tonight we were back at the hotel and it was ringing loud, over the TV, over the AC in the hotel room. I sat down to work on my laptop and noticed after a while I wasn't hearing the noise.

I shut off the TV, no noise.

I shut off the AC, no noise.

My wife was in the shower and had the fan/water running. I had just read about the Serenade and had my previous experience with a noise generator. I had her shut off the water/fan, no noise.

Then slowly it crept back after about 30 seconds.

Turned both on, noise went away.

So I do believe the concept does work. With the iPod app I was using a matching tone, mine is around 4.5k. The shower/fan was much lower, but it worked.

I'll be trying one if this does not return to normal by the time we head home in a few days. Everyone has a different cause and everyone will have a different fix.

As I finish typing this I am in a dead silent hotel room and its already down to a 4 out of 10 so hopefully on the right track. If I do try one I will let everyone know the results.

 

[EricMI]

I had found Soundcure Serenade on the web a few weeks back and made an appointment for today to check out the device.

I've read the good and the bad. They had someone from Sound Cure there at the office today and I believe I was the 2nd person in their office to try it.

We went through the whole explanation and to be honest I heard the word habituation a bit too much since I saw this more as teaching your brain to ignore the sound which is much better than just getting used to it.

We did get into that part eventually. So here is what they offered, I'm just repeating what they told me:

1. Near immediate relief, you can define relief a lot of ways. It is not a wonder cure like the sound is gone. Continual improvement over 6 months.

2. In 6+ months, sometimes 12+ you will get to the ignoring phase. Basically your Tinnitus is gone. Happens in decent amount of patients, sometimes as little at 3 mo, 20 percent it never goes away.

3. Overall success rate of 70 percent based on returns. I do not know their tracking beyond returned units and since that is the question I asked, that was what was answered.

4. I asked about failures or people who say its gotten louder/worse. Listening to the tones at a volume that masks your tinnitus is bad and can make it worse. Improper use of the device in other ways, they told me never use it in a quiet room, always have ambient noise in the background. Lack of noise can make perception worse after removing device.

My tinnitus varies 80 percent of the time between a 2 and a 5. 5's are rare and a visit to a neuromuscular therapist for some lymphatic work brings it back to a 2-3. I have had a few episodes in the past few weeks where it has been a 8 and what prompted me to seek help. Before this it was not bothersome at the 2-3 level and at 4-5 I had a solution.

First I do not have hearing loss. Second my tinnitus is set off by low frequencies, not loud noises. They said this was unusual and at the end of the test/setup said I reacted in opposite to most people who focus more on high than low.

My tinnitus today is around 4250hz.

I believe it is made worse by a tightening of the muscles in around the ear which leads to fluid build up and increased noise.

It has been extremely tight the past few days and was at an 8. I saw my neruo therapist and that brought it down a hair to a 6-7. I have had an episode like this in the past and 2 visits in a row brought it from a 8 to a 1.

I sat down in the office. I have excellent/very sensitive hearing. So in the room I could hear the hum of the florescent lights, the hum of the transformer in the LCD TV on the wall, and slight noise from the air vents.

My tinnitus was a 6-7 when I went in. I heard it clearly over that noise which normally I need to be in a near silent room/laying down at a 2/3 level.

We went through a basic hearing test and then the 'fitting' where they play the tones and determine the proper sequence.

By the time we were done with the testing/tones I had a hard time picking the frequency because at that ambient volume level my tinnitus was imperceptible. I felt the muscles in my ear/head relax and a watery feeling behind the ear.

So to me, immediate improvement. They had to get me a set of ear plugs so I could plug one ear to figure out the tone of my tinnitus and even then it was very difficult. I will say I have had similar success with different frequencies but considering not only how loud it was but how much more relaxed my muscles became was important to me.

She started the S-tone program and I listened to it for probably 4-5 minutes while we continued to talk. Everyone left the room to get prepared for making me a set of customer active ear plugs and sitting a now empty room I had no perception of the tinnitus.

They plugged my ears, no noise. They injected the molding material and I did perceive the noise but identical to the noise level when I wear ear plugs. After 5 minutes they removed them and again no perceptible noise compared to when I walked in it was very high.

Now the hard part for me. At a 2-3 I do not have the motivation, nor the desire to wear something for 4-5 hours a day. At a 5-8 I'm willing to sell my soul

I have 30 days to try for free. I do not even know the price, they just fitted it to me and I left after signing a IOU for the device. I'll be back in next week when my custom plugs come in.

I have a lot of theories on it and to me reducing the noise was not as big of a deal as relaxing the muscle. I believe they are all interconnected which means the science may be accurate.

So for day 1 instant relief. Now the trick is will it get bad enough in the next 30 days so I can see if I can repeat it?

My biggest problem right now is that since my hearing is so good I'm stuck between too quiet to hear it, at a .5 level and too loud to mask my tinnitus at 1.5. They had a hard time during the testing to get it quiet enough where I could compare it.

I'll keep everyone updated. I personally think the science makes sense and there may be a lot of failures out there due to improper application. The person they sent out was nice enough but you can tell it was a 4 hour training class and sent people out to cure the world. They need people who have gotten some experience in treatment rather than just going through a series of steps.

 

[Relic Hunter]

EricMI.
Thank you for posting this. The VA has started using SERENADE in their TRT program on tinnitus. I hope to try it out there..It takes so long to get anything done at the VA that I was hoping someone would post results from using this before I ventured on probably a year long journey just to try it out.

Please keep us posted on your progress.

 

[jazz]

@EricMI

Thank you for the informative post! I've always wondered about this device, but most of the reviews on the tinnitus boards are negative. Serenade's own study said about two thirds achieve some relief with one third responding very well. That study was several years old, and they've had some software improvements. I do like the science behind the therapy.

I'm into my seventh month of hearing aids, but my hearing loss is very slight. That said, the loss is in the tinnitus frequencies, and I have noticed an improvement by wearing the hearing aids. But I believe I'm stalling. My tinnitus fluctuates--like it always has. I used to have perhaps 50/50, then 30/70, then 60/40 good days to bad--which is where I currently am and have been for several months--even though sometimes I'll get four or five quiet days in a row. Long story short, I no longer react psychologically to my tinnitus, but it's still there every day, even when it's quiet. Sometimes, I wonder if I'll ever habituate--especially when I'm having a loud day, like today.

So please keep us posted on your progress and be sure to follow the protocol. Especially with sound therapies, you want to be sure you're doing everything correct to get the right effect on your brain. Wishing you the best of luck!

jazz

 

[EricMI]

Day 3 with it and the luster has worn off.

That is not to say it does not work but I came across this today:

http://www.soundcure.com/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2013/08/200004-J-Patient-Manual-English.pdf

That sets much lower expectations than the marketing material does. I'm not saying it does/does not work just that it changed my mind set regarding the device.

I have held off using it again until I talk to the audiologist on Monday. They were very specific as to not have the sound over the level of your tinnitus but its device is stuck to where its silent, or louder than my tinnitus which is not that loud to begin with.

 

[jazz]

Day 3 with it and the luster has worn off.

I have held off using it again until I talk to the audiologist on Monday. They were very specific as to not have the sound over the level of your tinnitus but its device is stuck to where its silent, or louder than my tinnitus which is not that loud to begin with.

@EricMI Thank you so much for uploading the manual to TT!

Please tell us about your trip to the audiologist!

About the manual, I didn't find anything unusual or discouraging. While it's surprising that the device is able to damage your hearing if played too loudly, I know the device was based on an audio engineer who had crazy loud tinnitus. I presume the makers of Serenade (I do hate the title SoundCure) want to insure that everyone with tinnitus can achieve a relief--even though most of their literature (on the Internet) emphasizes how relief is obtained through sounds much softer than a person's noise.

Most of the warnings in the manual are to protect the company from potential lawsuits if someone blasts the device at a high volume, especially for prolonged periods. Sometimes loud tinnitus can make people desperate so I can see this scenario as not uncommon.

Of course, the device emits RF and thus may interfere with electronics. That was news to me. I don't know enough about RF, and what levels are acceptable.

My audiologist offers the device and says their record in achieving habituation is very good. She recently had someone habituate after about six months of usage. A gradual process, she said the guy had fewer and fewer loud day, then he had no loud days, and now he only hears his tinnitus when he focuses on it. To me, that's success! But I also know that all these sound therapies require a multi-month commitment. While tinnitus can be instantaneous, habituation moves slowly and often awkwardly--the "two steps forward, on step back" phenomenon.

 

[Luke]

Thanks everyone for your input on this study! I'm considering SoundCure myself, and contacted Dr. Zeng, who implemented the study that led to SoundCure, by email. I first learned about SoundCure after finding the ATA article that Steve posted above. After contacting Dr. Zeng to ask for demographic information regarding who this treatment generally works for, he said all he could provide was the attached article (I haven't read every post in this thread, so my bad if someone else already shared this). I found it pretty helpful, though it's unfortunate that only 20 people were involved in the study. The gist of this article is that tinnitus suppression was most successful using amplitude-modulated tones, and was most likely for those without hyperacusis symptoms.

 

[jazz]

Well, if you try it, please keep us posted. Did he say how long they therapy took before you achieved permanent reduction in your noise? I do know you can use it on your loud days and it is supposed to offer relief.

 

[erik]

Yes thanks for your input and do keep us updated. Unfortunately, they sell these devices for big money but the studies that their based on are far from impressive. So we need to rely on people here at TT and other places to give us real feedback. I believe SoundCure gives you 30 days to return it. I tried it but didn't like it. The fee to return it was about $80 I believe.

I find it interesting that these devices are based on studies of only few people. Most study 10, 2o or 25 and that's it. How can you expect to sell this to possibly thousands of tinnitus sufferers on such a small sample size? I also find it interesting that these devices also state that people show improvement within 3-4 months. The fact of the matter is that most people with T show improvement within 3-4 months even if they use nothing...

 

[Geibel49]

I was introduced to this little electronic device called Serenade at my appointment this past week. Has anyone tried it and what has the success rate been?

 

[Claire43013]

Hello,
My name is Claire and I am pretty new to this forum and tinnitus (one month....of hell) that I developed from a virus that attacked the nerve in my ear. I'm reading like crazy about all the different treatment options in case it doesn't go away, and I found some interesting research about SoundCure. Has anyone tried it and had any success?

 

[Karen]

I tried it, but it didn't work for me. If you're interested, you can probably get a free trial through your audiologist. That's what I did. Although it didn't work for me, it may work for you.

 

[Claire43013]

Thank you Karen. I'm trying to get into the AM101 study right now, so I want to try that first, then maybe this if that's not effective. Have you habituated to yours? How loud is it?

 

[Karen]

Hi, Claire,

No, I haven't totally habituated to my new level of tinnitus. I was habituated back in 2010, but then took an ototoxic drug and that made my tinnitus much worse. I have improved considerably, though. My problem is that I have both ringing/hissing tinnitus and pulsatile tinnitus (heartbeat sound). Both are constant; that's why it's taking me so long.

I wish you success in getting into the AM101 study! It really sounds hopeful; wouldn't it be wonderful if it cured most people?

 

[dan]

85% of us "hyper-monitor" our tinnitus...

SoundCure Announces Results of Tinnitus Patient Study:
Serenade Software Enables Clinicians to Diagnose Hypermonitoring
SAN JOSE, CA – OCTOBER 28, 2013 – SoundCure today announces results of a patient study quantifying how patients with tinnitus (ringing in the ears) "hypermonitor" their tinnitus, the neurological phenomenon of perceiving tinnitus to be much louder than it is when measured objectively. These study results are highly statistically significant, and confirm that most patients seeking treatment suffer from an inaccurate perception of their tinnitus loudness.
For tinnitus sufferers, the potential "over perception" of tinnitus as very loud is considered more bothersome than perception of it as soft or not perceiving it at all. The ability to quantify this sensitivity gives both the patient and the clinician insight into the condition. This data offers a valuable tool to the clinician for patient counseling and explaining the potential long term benefits of sound therapy to address this hyper-monitoring through habituation.
In this study, 119 tinnitus patients were evaluated using the SoundCure Serenade tinnitus treatment system. Patients were first asked to rate the loudness of their tinnitus on a scale of 1 (soft) to 10 (loud) resulting in a subjective loudness score. Then they rated a series of external tones, pitch-matched to their tinnitus, presented at different volumes. One of these tones was presented at a volume exactly matching their perceived tinnitus loudness. The ratings of the self-assessed tinnitus volume and its external equivalents were then compared.
A ranking of the tinnitus as louder than the external equivalent sound is an indication of hypermonitoring, the subconscious process of erroneously perceiving the tinnitus as loud when it should seem soft. Study results indicate 104 of 122 patients (85%) hypermonitor. On average, patients hypermonitor by 3.9 points (+-2.6) on a scale of 1 to 10. For 28%, the difference between the perceived and matched tinnitus loudness scores was greater than or equal to 6. This significant finding illustrates how much patients suffer from this over-perception. Restoring appropriate perception, and increasing the periods of time where the patient doesn't notice the tinnitus at all through habituation can bring substantial relief.
"This test and clinical finding can be a powerful tool for the patient to see that a real perceptual phenomenon is occurring", said Bill Perry, SoundCure CEO. "It offers valuable validation of the patient's condition. In demonstrating and quantifying this phenomenon, the hearing healthcare provider can more easily explain what long term sound therapy care through habituation can correct, and the benefit that can be achieved. Habituation provides longer windows of time where the patient does not notice his tinnitus, and it seems softer to him when he does notice it, providing relief in several ways. We continue to pursue new treatments and diagnostics for tinnitus sufferers."
http://www.soundcure.com/news/press-release-2013-10-28/

 

[just1morething]

It's a waste of money! It never lived up to its name. I had one and returned it, as it made my T worse IMO. Use a mp3 player or iPod instead!

 

[Claire43013]

Hi, Claire,

No, I haven't totally habituated to my new level of tinnitus. I was habituated back in 2010, but then took an ototoxic drug and that made my tinnitus much worse. I have improved considerably, though. My problem is that I have both ringing/hissing tinnitus and pulsatile tinnitus (heartbeat sound). Both are constant; that's why it's taking me so long.

I wish you success in getting into the AM101 study! It really sounds hopeful; wouldn't it be wonderful if it cured most people?

Yes, it would be amazing! I'm still waiting to hear back from the doctor. They said I may be disqualified since I took predinsone for a short time. The consent form said you just have to be off the meds for two weeks prior to the treatment, so now I'm just waiting to see!

My mom has pulsatile tinnitus that she got back in 2007 from a surgery and she has habituated to it. I know you will too. It's just something we don't like to hear, "It will take time!" : )