At first, Bill Guhl was skeptical about using music therapy to manage hearing problems, such as tinnitus, a progressively worsening condition he developed after serving in noisy Vietnam War battlefields. Four months into the tinnitus treatment, though, the Weston, Ohio resident says his hearing has improved by about 60 percent.

According to Guhl, tearing loud noises, which used to cause pain to shoot down into his shoulder, no longer hurts. “Taking the pain out of this whole thing has really helped,” says Guhl, who for the first time in years can go to restaurants and social gatherings without wearing earplugs.

Guhl is one of 32 tinnitus patients at Northwest Ohio Hearing Clinic who are being treated with a U.S. FDA-approved medical device developed by Neuromonics Inc., of Bethlehem, Pa.

All of the patients are progressing, except one, according to Randa Mansour-Shousher, AuD, MS. Mansour-Shousher is a doctor of audiology at the private clinic, which has locations at the University of Toledo Medical Center, the former Medical College of Ohio Hospital, and in Perrysburg, Ohio.

Approximately 12 million Americans have chronic tinnitus, a debilitating condition often described as ringing in the ears. And, according to the American Tinnitus Association (ATA), up to 2 million people with this disease are unable to work or leave home.

The Neuromonics device, however, shows promise for helping some patients, and it is unique both because it takes less time than other sound therapies and uses music, says Jennifer DuPriest, spokesman for the ATA. “Sound therapies … are the most effective form of treatments to date,” she says.

Research shows the customized Neuromonics treatment helps 91 percent of patients significantly reduce tinnitus symptoms, according to the company.

After patients are evaluated, they are given devices that look like typical MP3 players. The devices, though, deliver auditory stimulation at high frequencies, and they keep track of usage information to help evaluate and customize treatments.

The two-phase Neuromonics treatment typically takes about six months, and patients may continue using the devices during periodic tinnitus disturbances. During the treatment’s second phase, patients’ brains are retrained to ignore the sounds, she says.

However, patients must be devoted to following the treatment program, Mansour-Shousher warns. That includes using the device for at least two to three hours a day when noises are most disturbing during the first couple of months, she says.

“It’s not an easy thing to deal with,” Mansour-Shousher says. “You can’t just put this on and then it’s done.”

Guhl, who hears a sound similar to locusts, especially in his right ear, says he tried other tinnitus treatments to no avail and was depressed. The Neuromonics treatment will not cure his condition, but he is grateful for the improvement, he says.

“It doesn’t really remove the noise,” Guhl says. “It takes your focus off of it.”


Source: Julie M. McKinnon/The Toledo Blade