Success Using the Acoustic Coordinated Reset Neuromodulation (ACRN) Treatment

[Carl Rutschow]

I am successfully using the Acoustic Coordinated Reset Neuromodulation protocol to manage my tinnitus.
I have a fairly constant, mostly single frequency hiss in my left ear which I've had for several years, that suddenly appeared one day and never went away.

The technical paper on the technique is here.
The on-line generator I use to provide the required tones is here.

It seems to work quite well for me although I have to redo a few hour treatment every couple weeks or so.
I just listen to it using a earphone in my tinnitus ear, while I'm on the computer doing other things.

The trickiest part is matching the generated frequency to the tinnitus frequency during the initial setup.
It can take some experimenting until you get it right.
When correct, increasing the generated frequency should just sound like your tinnitus sound is increasing.
You shouldn't really hear a distinct separate tone.

The treatment doesn't work immediately for me (and sometimes seems to actually add some tinnitus noise right after treatment), but the next day the tinnitus is usually mostly gone.

It takes a certain motivation to do the treatment, but the annoyance of the tinnitus is sufficient for me.

 

[john mccluskey]

Great news carl . I have an appointment for an initial asssesment on June 1st at the tinnitus clinic . I have it loud in both ears so will see what they offer . Great it's working for you.

 

[Paul10]

Good to hear, Carl! I'm listening to the General Fuzz page now, always give it a listen to give me (somewhat) of a break. Due to my higher T frequency, I wouldn't qualify for the treatment (The Tinnitus Clinic recommend it for people with no higher than 10,000Hz) but General Fuzz's ACRN at least allows me to give it a go.

Great news carl . I have an appointment for an initial asssesment on June 1st at the tinnitus clinic . I have it loud in both ears so will see what they offer . Great it's working for you.

Definitely have a read through the link Carl provided before forking out 5K for this; you could save yourself a lot of money!

 

[Kaivey]

A Question About How Loud to play ACRN

My hearing is good for my age, apparently, and my problem is tinnitus only. In my best ear I can hear over 15Khz (the online test did not go beyond that). My worst performing ear goes to about 13.5Khz which is also the frequency of my tinnitus whistle in that ear. To hear a 13.5Khz with the online signal I need to set the generator to max and my headphone amp needs to be over halfway. This amp does not go too loud when set to max. When I turn the frequency down to around 1Hhz to 2khz the sound gets very loud and would damage your hearing in time. But up at 13Khz the sound becomes quite and at 13.5khz it is hardly noticeable. But a young person may find this level of sound intensity to be very painful although I can barely hear it, so I'm wondering if in time it could damage my hearing even further.

When I run the online ACRN I set it to max volume (links below) my headphone amp has to be over halfway to for me to hear it, so I'm wondering if I am damaging my ears even though to me it is very quite. If I turn the ACRN signal down I can't hear it but perhaps I should be placing it at this level although it won't mask my tinnitus. To mask my tinnitus I need to set my amp to over halfway even though my tinnitus is not loud (it's just intrusive). I think only an ACRN doctor would know the answer but maybe someone here might know something.

No need for link as it was the generalfuzz ACRN I used. I have further read the replies here and it seems that ACRN is not recommended for people who have tinnitus above 10khz.

 

[Paulmanlike]

Great news carl . I have an appointment for an initial asssesment on June 1st at the tinnitus clinic . I have it loud in both ears so will see what they offer . Great it's working for you.

How did you get on

 

[Paulmanlike]

I am successfully using the Acoustic Coordinated Reset Neuromodulation protocol to manage my tinnitus.
I have a fairly constant, mostly single frequency hiss in my left ear which I've had for several years, that suddenly appeared one day and never went away.

The technical paper on the technique is here.
The on-line generator I use to provide the required tones is here.

It seems to work quite well for me although I have to redo a few hour treatment every couple weeks or so.
I just listen to it using a earphone in my tinnitus ear, while I'm on the computer doing other things.

The trickiest part is matching the generated frequency to the tinnitus frequency during the initial setup.
It can take some experimenting until you get it right.
When correct, increasing the generated frequency should just sound like your tinnitus sound is increasing.
You shouldn't really hear a distinct separate tone.

The treatment doesn't work immediately for me (and sometimes seems to actually add some tinnitus noise right after treatment), but the next day the tinnitus is usually mostly gone.

It takes a certain motivation to do the treatment, but the annoyance of the tinnitus is sufficient for me.

How much reduction did you get? How long does the reduction last?

 

[Aschenherz]

I am successfully using the Acoustic Coordinated Reset Neuromodulation protocol to manage my tinnitus.
I have a fairly constant, mostly single frequency hiss in my left ear which I've had for several years, that suddenly appeared one day and never went away.

The technical paper on the technique is here.
The on-line generator I use to provide the required tones is here.

It seems to work quite well for me although I have to redo a few hour treatment every couple weeks or so.
I just listen to it using a earphone in my tinnitus ear, while I'm on the computer doing other things.

The trickiest part is matching the generated frequency to the tinnitus frequency during the initial setup.
It can take some experimenting until you get it right.
When correct, increasing the generated frequency should just sound like your tinnitus sound is increasing.
You shouldn't really hear a distinct separate tone.

The treatment doesn't work immediately for me (and sometimes seems to actually add some tinnitus noise right after treatment), but the next day the tinnitus is usually mostly gone.

It takes a certain motivation to do the treatment, but the annoyance of the tinnitus is sufficient for me.

how long are u listening for the sounds per day in the initial process?

 

[c_kenn]

How long are people listening to the ACRN Protocol in a session? I have just been diagnosed.

 

[Lukee]

I forgot to post this a while back but I had some success with the generalfuzz ACRN earlier on in my tinnitus journey. I was using it daily sometimes for hours while I worked at my computer or driving to and from work (about 20 minutes). I would find that it would give me some residual inhibition and mental relief if nothing else.

Earlier on my tinnitus was not as loud and mostly maskable throughout the day, it has become a little louder and still fluctuates but there are times when it isn't as maskable. I have a high pitched hiss like TV noise maybe around 16 kHz. The problem with ACRN is it only goes to 15 kHz but still that seemed to work for me. I don't know the exact mechanics behind ACRN as I just browsed through the paper but I had an experience I wanted to share.

Here is the interesting part: one day while working in my office, I had ACRN playing. My office can get pretty loud as I work in a factory and sometimes the machine sounds can come right into my office. On this day it was average noise and I couldn't hear my tinnitus over the machines, HVAC and computer running. Still ACRN ran. For some reason, over a period of hours, the beeps started to really slow down. Like I said, I'm not sure if this is how it's supposed to work but I'm pretty sure it's not because it didn't happen other times. The beeps got slower and slower to the point of about 1 beep every 10 seconds. All of a sudden I noticed that there was no noise from the factory and the beeps had slowed so much yet I was sitting in silence. My tinnitus had vanished but as long as the beeps were playing I couldn't hear it. This same kind of experience happened on one other occasion when I was playing it from my phone on a drive that was a few hours long. It started to slow down but only to about a beep every few seconds, yet again, I couldn't hear my tinnitus even listening for it. It was like every time a beep played, it was shooing the beast back into its cage.

I started thinking that if ACRN works for some people to suppress their tinnitus while listening to it, maybe slowing down the beeps over an entire day might help reset the brain. I'm sure someone could engineer a hearing aid that would play ACRN all day and over the course of the day slow down the tempo. Over a matter of weeks, the starting tempo and ending tempo would be slower still and by the end, hopefully tinnitus would be gone. I'm sure someone who understand the neurological part hear might be able to chime in. I'm not saying this works 100% or for everyone but it seemed to be working for me. The issue I had was accessing ACRN when not sitting at my computer as you need to leave your browser open on your phone. Maybe even an app with some headphones could do it but I'd be more inclined to say purpose built (modified) hearing aids could do a better job.

 

[Renfrey]

I forgot to post this a while back but I had some success with the generalfuzz ACRN earlier on in my tinnitus journey. I was using it daily sometimes for hours while I worked at my computer or driving to and from work (about 20 minutes). I would find that it would give me some residual inhibition and mental relief if nothing else.

Earlier on my tinnitus was not as loud and mostly maskable throughout the day, it has become a little louder and still fluctuates but there are times when it isn't as maskable. I have a high pitched hiss like TV noise maybe around 16 kHz. The problem with ACRN is it only goes to 15 kHz but still that seemed to work for me. I don't know the exact mechanics behind ACRN as I just browsed through the paper but I had an experience I wanted to share.

Here is the interesting part: one day while working in my office, I had ACRN playing. My office can get pretty loud as I work in a factory and sometimes the machine sounds can come right into my office. On this day it was average noise and I couldn't hear my tinnitus over the machines, HVAC and computer running. Still ACRN ran. For some reason, over a period of hours, the beeps started to really slow down. Like I said, I'm not sure if this is how it's supposed to work but I'm pretty sure it's not because it didn't happen other times. The beeps got slower and slower to the point of about 1 beep every 10 seconds. All of a sudden I noticed that there was no noise from the factory and the beeps had slowed so much yet I was sitting in silence. My tinnitus had vanished but as long as the beeps were playing I couldn't hear it. This same kind of experience happened on one other occasion when I was playing it from my phone on a drive that was a few hours long. It started to slow down but only to about a beep every few seconds, yet again, I couldn't hear my tinnitus even listening for it. It was like every time a beep played, it was shooing the beast back into its cage.

I started thinking that if ACRN works for some people to suppress their tinnitus while listening to it, maybe slowing down the beeps over an entire day might help reset the brain. I'm sure someone could engineer a hearing aid that would play ACRN all day and over the course of the day slow down the tempo. Over a matter of weeks, the starting tempo and ending tempo would be slower still and by the end, hopefully tinnitus would be gone. I'm sure someone who understand the neurological part hear might be able to chime in. I'm not saying this works 100% or for everyone but it seemed to be working for me. The issue I had was accessing ACRN when not sitting at my computer as you need to leave your browser open on your phone. Maybe even an app with some headphones could do it but I'd be more inclined to say purpose built (modified) hearing aids could do a better job.

Very interesting. I've noticed this ACRN thing before in passing, but never really looked into it until now. I just started listening right now. I like it so far. I like the customization and gentleness of it.

Like the opening post was saying though, it seems a little tricky trying to accurately pinpoint your frequency. While I gradually increase the frequency during testing, it sounds like mine could fit into a number of different ranges. I think if you're in a range where you feel it's close enough, then you should probably be alright. What do you think? I settled at 10342 for now.

I need to read up on it more. There seems to be a lot of information and discussion on it.

 

[Lukee]

Very interesting. I've noticed this ACRN thing before in passing, but never really looked into it until now. I just started listening right now. I like it so far. I like the customization and gentleness of it.

Like the opening post was saying though, it seems a little tricky trying to accurately pinpoint your frequency. While I gradually increase the frequency during testing, it sounds like mine could fit into a number of different ranges. I think if you're in a range where you feel it's close enough, then you should probably be alright. What do you think? I settled at 10342 for now.

I need to read up on it more. There seems to be a lot of information and discussion on it.

I'm at 15 kHz but could go to 16 kHz if it went higher. For me it works like the YouTube neuromodulation track we've discussed. Try it out a bit and let me know how it goes.

 

[Renfrey]

I'm at 15 kHz but could go to 16 kHz if it went higher. For me it works like the YouTube neuromodulation track we've discussed. Try it out a bit and let me know how it goes.

That's what I was going to mention too. In particular, I think it reminds me of this one, where it's a more constant high-pitched tone. The same one that I thought was giving my ears that full feeling for a while.



15 kHz and 16 kHz, uh? I need to try that. I need to try and keep up with you.

I also find it interesting and slightly scary that they're saying to keep the volume a little above your tinnitus level, when all the others say to keep it below. But I'm game. It seems gentle enough to play with.

 

[Lukee]

That's what I was going to mention too. In particular, I think it reminds me of this one, where it's a more constant high-pitched tone. The same one that I thought was giving my ears that full feeling for a while.

15 kHz and 16 kHz, uh? I need to try that. I need to try and keep up with you.

I also find it interesting and slightly scary that they're saying to keep the volume a little above your tinnitus level, when all the others say to keep it below. But I'm game. It seems gentle enough to play with.

Please don't try to keep up with me, you might hurt yourself I'm telling you when the track slowed down significantly it kept my tinnitus completely gone. I'm eventually going to try to replicate it again. Going to pay someone to program an app to do it.

15 kHz tinnitus sucks because you can't cover it with anything.

 

[Renfrey]

Please don't try to keep up with me, you might hurt yourself I'm telling you when the track slowed down significantly it kept my tinnitus completely gone. I'm eventually going to try to replicate it again. Going to pay someone to program an app to do it.

15 kHz tinnitus sucks because you can't cover it with anything.

I tried 15 kHz right now, and honestly I think mine is probably around there too. But having to listen to 15 kHz above my tinnitus sound is a little unnerving. It sounds like it's amplifying everything. Maybe I need to get used to it more.

What exactly do you mean by 'when it slows down'? Does the track actually slow down, or does it just sound like it does?

And at 15 kHz, the beeps are kind of hard to hear unless the volume is relatively high. I guess that's the idea, right? To have it blend in with your tinnitus sound as much as possible? If so, then I think it becomes a matter of finding a safe, comfortable, and effective listening volume.

My tinnitus sound frequency might be around 15 kHz, but the volume of it usually isn't that high. It usually averages around 2 or 3 at the most.

 

[Lukee]

I tried 15 kHz right now, and honestly I think mine is probably around there too. But having to listen to 15 kHz above my tinnitus sound is a little unnerving. It sounds like it's amplifying everything. Maybe I need to get used to it more.

What exactly do you mean by 'when it slows down'? Does the track actually slow down, or does it just sound like it does?

And at 15 kHz, the beeps are kind of hard to hear unless the volume is relatively high. I guess that's the idea, right? To have it blend in with your tinnitus sound as much as possible? If so, then I think it becomes a matter of finding a safe, comfortable, and effective listening volume.

My tinnitus sound frequency might be around 15 kHz, but the volume of it usually isn't that high. It usually averages around 2 or 3 at the most.

If you read my previous post you'll see what I'm talking about when I mentioned slowing down. I don't know if it's by design or if my computer was just glitching but the beeps continued to slow down to the point where the beeps were several seconds apart and during that time I couldn't hear the ringing at all. At one point the beats were about 10 seconds apart and even then I could not hear the ringing.

 

[Renfrey]

I'm at 15 kHz but could go to 16 kHz if it went higher.

Maybe we're both covered on that, because the frequency sequence that plays at 15 kHz is 11550, 13523, 16402, and 20951, according to that page.

 

[Renfrey]

If you read my previous post you'll see what I'm talking about when I mentioned slowing down. I don't know if it's by design or if my computer was just glitching but the beeps continued to slow down to the point where the beeps were several seconds apart and during that time I couldn't hear the ringing at all. At one point the beats were about 10 seconds apart and even then I could not hear the ringing.

I think that some of what's heard may be by design, and at other times it may be that the beeps are blending in with our tinnitus sounds and cancelling out.

It's a trip. Sometimes while listening, the beeps are pronounced and distinguishable. And at other times, it's quiet. And I notice that I could be hearing the beeps at one angle, and then turn my head slightly to a different angle, and the beeps change in volume or disappear altogether.

 

[Lukee]

I think that some of what's heard may be by design, and at other times it may be that the beeps are blending in with our tinnitus sounds and cancelling out.

It's a trip. Sometimes while listening, the beeps are pronounced and distinguishable. And at other times, it's quiet. And I notice that I could be hearing the beeps at one angle, and then turn my head slightly to a different angle, and the beeps change in volume or disappear altogether.

This is something I noticed after getting tinnitus. I'm pretty sure it's the same for people with healthy ears but I'm not positive. I would turn my head listening to neuromodulation tracks and realize that there was a significant drop in the volume of the beeps.

 

[Renfrey]

If you read my previous post you'll see what I'm talking about when I mentioned slowing down. I don't know if it's by design or if my computer was just glitching but the beeps continued to slow down to the point where the beeps were several seconds apart and during that time I couldn't hear the ringing at all. At one point the beats were about 10 seconds apart and even then I could not hear the ringing.

According to the research study, it appears that it was designed to have 2 silent cycles.

Here's what it says:

4 tones per cycle were played in random order with 3 stimulation cycles followed by 2 silent cycles (Fig. 1a). The silent cycles were introduced in order to optimize the duration of the transient desynchronization and, hence, the anti-kindling effect.
​

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/attach...nitus-by-acoustic-cr-neuromodulation-pdf.183/

 

[CRN]

I am using https://generalfuzz.net/acrn/ at 13761.

At this tone I can't even really hear anything unless I turn the volume all the way up and then it is over my own ear hum a bit.

Is this the right tone to use?

Is 20 minutes a day enough time?

Thanks!!!