@vttbx, concerning OmniPEMF, I searched the web and I think I found the posts you are referring to. Interestingly, from what I read based on the anecdotal experience, the setting that seems to help is "deep relaxation" but one also needs to position the head device in a somewhat atypical position that is different from the position used for depression/sleep etc. The user that had success said that the headset has to be positioned in front of the ears and that one has to choose two particular frequencies (that I think coincide with deep relaxation).
This is the link provided by the manufacturer for tinnitus, but as you see it is relatively vague. It claims that Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy (PEMF) can benefit tinnitus patients based on this study:
Engel S, Markewitz R, Langguth B, Schecklmann M. Paired Associative Stimulation of the Temporal Cortex: Effects on the Auditory Steady-State Response.
Front Psychiatry. 2017;8:227. DOI:
10.3389/fpsyt.2017.00227
That is a study for general PEMF and not for the specific device. The manufacturer does not claim to cure tinnitus but says they can help with tinnitus symptoms (I guess anxiety, insomnia etc). However the user I mentioned above experienced periods of remission of tinnitus itself. But this is a sample of one.
There is also a report of one user getting tinnitus from using the device after three weeks for other conditions, but this might be due to the particular setting used, in that it is known that stimulating-type therapies (like TMS for depression) can trigger tinnitus. We know that already. One could then try the relaxing setting with this device, with an ad hoc positioning of the device, and hopefully this could be similar to a TMS clinic treatment? That is another question I have, is PEMF therapy the same as TMS? They call PEMF also low level magnetic therapy but it's not clear to me if this is the same as proper TMS. Here in London proper TMS for tinnitus would cost about £10,000-£20,000 depending on the number of sessions. It's highly standardized as they don't base it on brain scans or anything, so I suspect its effectiveness is not that clear. I can barely afford that with all that's coming up in my life right now and if the effect is temporary and therapy needs to be repeated this would be totally unsustainable, and if it does nothing or worsens me God knows how I would feel, it's already desperation now. A home device would be a much better option for me, given also the COVID-19 issues.
@vttbx, I think the main challenge would be to make sure that the device setting and positioning matches as well as possible the setting of the successful academic papers using TMS specifically for tinnitus. This is a summary paper for TMS that also develops personalized protocols:
Individualized Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Treatment in Chronic Tinnitus?
However this is not the same paper I linked above. This second paper is a real TMS paper and as I said above I'm not clear how much home PEMF devices are comparable to proper TMS therapy. I'm not sure how I would use a home device in a way that matches this second paper as much as possible. Again the user I mentioned came up with some suggestions but they are really very anecdotal and I'm not sure what to do. May I ask you how you plan to proceed? If you feel like answering these questions it would be helpful, but no worries otherwise:
1. Do you think PEMF is really a form of TMS, and is it comparable to proper TMS?
2. What program would you use? Would you agree the relaxation one is the most appropriate in trying to match the frequencies of the above TMS paper?
3. Where would you position the headset?
4. Is there anything else we can do to understand how to best customize the treatment?