for those that have ringing in the ears.... for real!

[mixerguy]

Neuromonics Oasis quiets the ring in your ears, won't stop the voices - Engadget

[PlugHead]

OMFG!!!

3 to 6 k for that! Sweet Jesus, they must think the suffering is unreal!?!

I'll deal with my tinnitus without resorting to stoop to that idiocy (price-wise - can't speak on it's effectiveness)...

[not_so_new]

Originally Posted by PlugHead

OMFG!!!

3 to 6 k for that! Sweet Jesus, they must think the suffering is unreal!?!

I'll deal with my tinnitus without resorting to stoop to that idiocy (price-wise - can't speak on it's effectiveness)...

You obviously don't have BAD tinnitus then.

There are stories (I don't know how try they are) of people choosing to have their auditory never severed because the pain from daily sounds was excruciatingly painfully.

I know that my ears HURT, I mean H U R T when I put the dishes away or when a bus goes by while I am on the sidewalk and I can't even think about going to a hockey or football game without serious ear protection. The pain is just this side of tears at loud events like that for me.

If it does get worse than this I do think I would be happy to shell out some big money for relief. Sucks... remember TAKE CARE OF YOUR EARS!

[not_so_new]

FYI, I see that this is directly talking about "ringing" not hyperacusis.... I guess I should have read the link before replying....

[skatingbasser]

"Whether it's from exposure to massive jet engines, or just listening to Reign in Blood one too many times..."

Amazing.

[vernier]

3 to 6 k for that! Sweet Jesus, they must think the suffering is unreal!?!

A person I know that has it says the suffering is unreal.

[Ben J]

It looks like a "free gift" radio you might get that's packaged with a bottle of shampoo.

[severe]

Originally Posted by skatingbasser

"Whether it's from exposure to massive jet engines, or just listening to Reign in Blood one too many times..."

Amazing.

Don't blame the messenger.

The Oasis product page.

[Kiwiburger]

Looks like a ripoff. Why not record some soothing real environmental noise (sea, wind, rain, crickets - whatever) and use an mp3 player.

I can't see the "music" part of the equation appealing to many people - chances are you would hate the music. Use music you actually want to hear.

I had a bit of tinnitus, which has gone for the most part. I wouldn't wish it on anyone - and I can imagine this would be a real problem.

This is what I would do if I had to live with it (experiment with pleasant noise recordings).

[not_so_new]

Originally Posted by Kiwiburger

Looks like a ripoff. Why not record some soothing real environmental noise (sea, wind, rain, crickets - whatever) and use an mp3 player.

I can't see the "music" part of the equation appealing to many people - chances are you would hate the music. Use music you actually want to hear.

I had a bit of tinnitus, which has gone for the most part. I wouldn't wish it on anyone - and I can imagine this would be a real problem.

This is what I would do if I had to live with it (experiment with pleasant noise recordings).

Doesn't work.... at least not for me.

What does work for me is "training" my ears, which makes me feel like this product could work but the price is a little steep for my blood.

[Kiwiburger]

Maybe a way to "train" your ears/brain to cope with tinnitus would be to create customised music mixes with notch eq peaks at the frequency you want to train your brain to ignore ...

[Sui_City]

i'll wait for the tracks to get posted on a torrent.

[PlugHead]

Originally Posted by Sui_City

i'll wait for the tracks to get posted on a torrent.

Word.

Not to make light of people's suffering, as I also suffer (albiet 'lightly') from it, but...

Without EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE that this STOPS, or REMOVES the problem, you will not see me shell out 3-6k for something that cost less the $100 to manu (even paying for some R&D in there) - I'd also be the first in line to "try before buy" in this dep't...

[Francis Vaughan]

Reading some of the comments (from people involved in the device) on the cited page it becomes a bit clearer, reading info from the manufacturer even more so.

The $3-6k is not for the device, it is for a lifetime of consulting services to go with the treatment that the device delivers. This particularly means all the tests, consultations, counselling, design of the treatment regime, followup, tweaking the treatment, maintenance regimes. Part of the cost is that the sounds played must be matched to the individual and the particular tinnitus symptoms they have. There is no simple cure all recording to be played.
The actual device is custom made and rather more sophisticated than a simple mp3 player. Worse it has various medical device certifications, which typically multiply the cost of any device a number times.

The treatment seems to work, has FDA approval in the US (which requires that the treatment be proven to be effective and safe), and overall seems to be a good thing. Sadly, like pretty much any medical treatment, the whole shebang is expensive. But as noted earlier, tinnitus for many people really is that bad. It has driven many sufferers to suicide, or as a last resort, to surgical severing of the auditory nerves - which does cure the tinnitus, at the cost of inducing total deafness.

It is a great pity the cited article was so glib and failed to do any proper research about it.

[joeq]

Originally Posted by Francis Vaughan

The actual device is custom made and rather more sophisticated than a simple mp3 player. Worse it has various medical device certifications, which typically multiply the cost of any device a number times.

The treatment seems to work, has FDA approval in the US (which requires that the treatment be proven to be effective and safe), and overall seems to be a good thing. Sadly, like pretty much any medical treatment, the whole shebang is expensive. But as noted earlier, tinnitus for many people really is that bad. It has driven many sufferers to suicide, or as a last resort, to surgical severing of the auditory nerves - which does cure the tinnitus, at the cost of inducing total deafness.
.

If it has these various certifications and approvals, it is possible that the cost of the device is covered by medical insurance. Worth looking into for those who suffer but don't have the $$ to shell out to see "if" it works.

[Francis Vaughan]

it is possible that the cost of the device is covered by medical insurance.

Sadly it seems it falls into the usual crack with HMOs. It is deemed experimental, and thus not covered. FDA approval is needed to sell it at all, but it needs to become SOP for treatment before HMOs will cover it. This does bring to mind Michael Moore's "Sicko" a bit.

Probably depends a great deal on you insurer's policy. Anything new does seem to take quite a while to be covered.

[PlugHead]

Originally Posted by joeq

If it has these various certifications and approvals, it is possible that the cost of the device is covered by medical insurance. Worth looking into for those who suffer but don't have the $$ to shell out to see "if" it works.

This is more my point - a very expensive 'dabble' into what MIGHT resolve one's personal hearing (tinnitus) problems...

I.E - with laser eye surgery, one runs a very slight risk of problems/complications, but the benefit is gaining back vision - IOW - worth the risk for many people with severe vision deficit.

I want relief from my ears ringing, but will not throw that kind of bread at something that cannot GUARANTEE permanent results. Even in Canada where we enjoy free health care, this type of device would NEVER be covered by our system - if the HMO's in the US will deny their beneficiaries necessary surgeries, etc., I highly doubt ANY insurance would cover these...

My .02 c

[Francis Vaughan]

It is hard to know how it will go. This stuff is very new. It has FDA approval, and has started a clinical trial in the US. In many ways it is altogether premature to judge it. Here in Oz it has undergone trials and has had good results.

In many areas of medicine there are no 100% cures. Not just many, most. But people who have never been seriously ill have never realised this. Most younger people get sick, get better. But a lot of medicine is involved in treating people who never get fully well. Or where treatment is risky. There are millions who live with permanent disabilities - for them something that improves the quality of life, even without effecting a cure is still very valuable, and most country's medical systems cover such treatments. My father is hemi-plegic after a stroke, and suffers from painful muscle cramping in the paralysed arm. Clearly there is no treatment that can reverse his disability, but there is palliative treatment for the cramping - they inject botox. It works for a few months then needs redoing. It is covered.

The idea that the only valid treatment is one that offers 100% assured cure is sadly just not something modern medicine is capable of. TV medicine dramas not withstanding.

This isn't some fringe or quack cure. It is a serious medical treatment and it is currently undergoing the full run of US trials to move it to the next stage of acceptance.