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Vibration Therapy Treatment for Tinnitus

Tinnitus is the sensation of a ringing, roaring or buzzing sound in the ears or head. It may be caused by head injury, various medications or overexposure to loud noises. While there is currently no cure for tinnitus, various treatments are available, including amplification, biofeedback and cochlear implants. Another treatment called Ultra High Frequency Vibration Therapy also shows some promise in treating tinnitus.

  1. What is Vibration Therapy?

    • Ultra High Frequency Vibration Therapy, also referred to as sound therapy or retraining therapy, refers to the masking or covering up of the effects of tinnitus through the use of sound. The idea is to reprogram your brain into canceling out the ringing, whooshing or other sounds you normally hear from tinnitus. The potentially successful result is called "residual inhibition" and can last from minutes to weeks.

    How Does it Work?

    • One study, described in a 2005 issue (Vol. 11, No. 1) of the "International Tinnitus Journal," included the use of the UltraQuiet system, a commercial product that employs patterned sound in the 10 to 20kHz range by way of bone conduction. Bone conduction is the conduction of sound to the inner ear through the bones of the skull.

      The researchers in the study used music as a stimulus, believing it to be more effective than noise. The music was digitally processed and shifted in pitch before being recorded on a CD. The CD was played through an amplifier into a bone-conduction transducer that was coupled to the skin and held in place with a headband.

    How Effective is Vibration Therapy?

    • According to the study, Ultra High Frequency Vibration Therapy may be capable of changing how the brain processes tinnitus, which could provide more-permanent residual inhibition.

      Some patients indicated more improvement than others, but the trend in all patients was an increase in tinnitus relief. The use of UltraQuiet therapy resulted in long-term reduction in tinnitus severity during therapy. That relief also lasted for at least two months after therapy among most subjects in the study.

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