OtoBand by Otolith Labs — Head-Mounted Device for Motion Sickness Reduces Tinnitus

To be honest I don't see why people are hyped about it.
It's basically the reddit cure isn't it?
But instead of tapping your finger in your head you have a mounted device.

Also I don't see how it is a cure at all as I believe as soon as you take it off the effect won't last (as I have read).
And I guess it's also not practical at all to wear?

I mean, better have a sound masking device, it would do the same good but at masking the tinnitus more but way more discreet. Because for me this is kind of a masking device.

Don't want to put any hopes down though but I think people should not rely to much on it and look more into other stuff.

 

Not sure if there is another thread on this, but these guys, "Otolith Labs", officially have a tinnitus trial. Here's the qualification link:

https://otolithlabs.com/tinnitustelehealthstudy/

 

They're going to have a tough time finding participants since floaters are a disqualifier.

 

I did their little survey and got the "you would be a good candidate for our trial", but let's see if they allow Europeans to join the trial.

I emailed them.

Digging a bit deeper into their (crappy) website I found this relevant stuff:







Side note: as mentioned, the website is a bit crappy. A couple of links not working etc... But who knows.

 

I've enrolled in the study and will report back after the two-week trial.

 

Do you have the device!?

 

Not yet. I just had the intro meeting today with Otolith. I should have the device by next week.

 

Godspeed with the trial! Please post as progress. You didn't have to sign an NDA I hope?

 

I just re-reviewed the signed consent form and nope, no NDA in there.

 

So I'm pretty much done with this trial aside from the close out call on Monday. They had me wear two devices separately for a week each. The device is a transducer that rests against the bone behind the right ear and vibrates. There's different levels of vibration and I was told to adjust depending on therapeutic effect. They sent two devices to have one act as a placebo though I'm not exactly sure how. The only difference between the two devices was that the transducer on the second device was larger.

To note, I have bilateral tinnitus with tones that fluctuate on a daily basis including ringing, static, and buzzing. I'm pretty sure my tinnitus is due to progressive sensorineural hearing loss I've had since I was a teenager. I currently have moderate-moderately severe losses at 4 kHz and above, and none to moderate at the lower frequencies. I haven't had any particular acoustic traumas that triggered my worsening last August, though I suspected my AirPods Pro that I used semi-frequently. I'm not sure if my hearing loss is due to genetics, but do plan to do genetic testing in the near future.

After using both devices, I did not notice any improvement from either; I was expecting this for the most part. Using the device did not worsen my tinnitus. The Otolith staff were super helpful and they made it clear that they're running this trial to see exactly what kinds of tinnitus would see benefit from this device. I do hope that the device ends up helping others.

 

I just signed up.

 

Their clinical trial page went up today. Under Arms, they explain how the actual and placebo devices are different by rotating the transducer.

Evaluation of the OtoBand as a Treatment to Reduce the Perceived Loudness of Tinnitus

 

@FGG, appreciate your opinion. What do you think, would you try this device?

 

I haven't seen any analysis of which cases this would theoretically work for and why, so not sure, especially as I have floaters (apparently an exclusion) and the last thing I would need is an ineffective device to make something worse.

The data might change my mind, but I personally wouldn't be in the trial.

 

I am somewhat skeptical, this seems like some placebo hogwash made to diverge actual tinnitus research funds.

I haven't seen any actual research, let alone trials that would suggest a VR headset would alleviate tinnitus symptoms in any way.

 

I had my meeting today... It was mentioned that those who have relief only have it while wearing the device.

So that right there is a disappointment, but I'll try it anyway.

 

So it's a masker. Not a treatment. Great.

 

Well it does not emit sound hence I would not call it a masker. Still I don’t see how this could work on tinnitus.

 

When you finally switch it off, your tinnitus will either be gone or come back like a banshee from hell.

It's vibrating hair cells through bone conduction. Kind of dangerous imo for long periods.

 

This is not a tinnitus treatment/solution at all.

Even if it works for tinnitus, then what? You have to wear it the rest of your life?

 

I wouldn’t mind to wear it for the rest of my life if it worked. I’m screwed for life anyway.

 

Does anyone think OtoBand could make one's tinnitus worse?

If not, I may give it a shot. You get $100 anyhow for participating in the trial, so even if it doesn't work, there's that.