Sound check

A new app is giving hope to, s6me of the more than 200,00Q'people who suffer from tinnitus.

- NICKY PELLEGRINO

One of the most common misconceptions about tinnitus is there is nothing to be done; you just have to live with it. About 207,000 New Zealanders are affected by the condition, which is often described as "ringing in the ears" but can also be experienced as buzzing, hissing, whooshing, clicking, humming, sizzling or shrieking sounds.

These can range from just annoying to seriously disabling.

Now, a research team led by the University of Auckland has developed a smartphone app that has been shown in trials to reduce the impact of tinnitus in two-thirds of its users. The app,called MindEar, offers a suite of tools that can be tailored to an individual's needs.

Audiologist Fabrice Bardy says MindEar works by harnessing the brain's natural ability to filter out irrelevant sounds. A combination of sound therapy, mindfulness exercises and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) helps train the brain to tune out tinnitus.

"We know that CBT has the most evidence for efficacy as a tinnitus treatment but it's not widely accessible," says Bardy. "Generally, when you have tinnitus you're connected with an audiologist and usually they're not trained to provide CBT.