Medical Minute: New FDA-Approved Device Offers Relief For Tinnitus Sufferers

Imagine hearing a ringing in your ears all the time. The noise can be so loud it can be debilitating.

I've always called it tinnitus only to now find out it's pronounced (TIN-nuh-tuhs), and more than 50 million Americans are living with it right now. No one knows why it happens, but a new drug-free, FDA-approved device is helping to silence the sound.

Bert Light has been at the controls for more than 32 years, but he was almost grounded when his ears started to ring.

"And all of a sudden my hearing or the tinnitus went from a level four to a level 12 out of 10," Light said.

Worse yet, nothing could stop it.

"It's a really difficult beast to treat because there's no one size fits all with this," Light said.

Peachtree Hearing audiologist Melissa Wykoff says nobody knows why it happens.

"Tinnitus can be inescapable. You can't shut it off," Wykoff said.

Traditionally treated with cognitive behavioral therapy, sound therapy, and retraining therapy, now tinnitus is being treated with this.

The Lenire device is the first and only FDA-approved device to use sound and sensory stimulation to teach the brain to ignore the sounds. Patients use the device at home for 30 minutes, twice a day for 12 weeks.

It worked for Bert.

"Right now, that I have my hearing aids in, and my tinnitus is zero. I hear nothing," Light said.

If left untreated, tinnitus can be challenging. In fact, 18 percent of people with tinnitus say they suffer from depression, and 21 percent had suicidal thoughts. In the latest study, 70 percent of patients said they found relief with the Lenire device.