New app could reduce debilitating impact of tinnitus

Tinnitus is the perception of sounds that are not the result of an external source, and affects a significant proportion of the population. Current treatments for the condition can be expensive and difficult to access. Researchers have created an app, called MindEar, that provides CBT through a chatbot with other approaches such as sound therapy. The Team who created the app are about to launch a larger clinical trial of the app with University College London (UCL) hospital. Dr Lucy Handscomb of the UCL Ear Institute, who is involved in the trial, said in-person help for tinnitus was not easily accessible, while patients often experienced an increase in anxiety while they waited for therapy.

“My hope is that, by giving people access to this very carefully designed intervention early on in their journey with tinnitus, they will be prevented from ever entering some of the negative thought cycles that so often occur and be able to live well with their tinnitus from the start,” she said. “I don’t see MindEar as a replacement for tinnitus therapy in person but I think it could be a very valuable complement to it.”

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