NeuroVR Device: Neurofeedback to Treat Tinnitus

[Ela Stefan]

Of course not! I had to try each of them for about 2-3 weeks each time, then switch to another if it didn't work.

It is important to mention, if you happen to try this protocol, that I had to take these drugs at a very low dose (not at epileptic sufferer dose).

I have understood they would work at the epileptic dose. For example, Lamictal is safe to go up to 400-600 mg.

 

[Kam75]

Hi folks!

I come with (bad) news, unfortunately.

Some years ago, in this thread, I talked about virtual reality as a treatment for tinnitus, as proposed by the Georges Pompidou Hospital in Paris.

It turns out that Dr. Londero didn't offer me to take part in the test protocol.

However, I came across this dissertation published in 2023 and supervised by Dr. Londero himself.

For those who don't speak French, here's an extract from the conclusion:

Although we have not demonstrated the efficacy of VR in the treatment of tinnitus, this approach is welcomed by patients in search of innovative therapies since it arouses curiosity and has a playful aspect. With the freedom of psychological connotations, as well as the fact that sessions are independent of the clinician's skills, VR is a promising treatment strategy for patients in situations of therapeutic failure.

Although its application is still restricted to the field of clinical research, the encouraging results of the lead study are conducive to the emergence of comparable studies.

It's disheartening to see yet another treatment that doesn't live up to our hopes...

 

[Utdmad89]

Hi folks!

I come with (bad) news, unfortunately.

Some years ago, in this thread, I talked about virtual reality as a treatment for tinnitus, as proposed by the Georges Pompidou Hospital in Paris.

It turns out that Dr. Londero didn't offer me to take part in the test protocol.

However, I came across this dissertation published in 2023 and supervised by Dr. Londero himself.

For those who don't speak French, here's an extract from the conclusion:

It's disheartening to see yet another treatment that doesn't live up to our hopes...

Shocker.

 

[Fields]

Brief update on NeuroVR. They have apparently reached a certain funding goal and are now pursuing a new line of research:

S.A.N.T.E.
As most of you probably know by now, we see an ear, brain, and body component to tinnitus in our vision. In our previous studies, we have focused on visualization (VR), relaxation, psychosomatic therapy (cranio sacral), fNIRS, neurofeedback, and other techniques. With varying results and certainly with growing insight.

But as long as we cannot address the source, tinnitus treatment always remains symptom management. And that was not our intention. The path to the source has resulted in a method we have named S.A.N.T.E. (Selective Audio-Tactical Neuromodulation for Tinnitus Elimination). In other words, can we very specifically disable one frequency in the cochlea to turn off cochlear tinnitus? This non-invasively, without pain, and without hearing loss.

The technology behind this has now been patented, and with that, I can announce that this has succeeded. It's too early to celebrate for everyone, but it's a big step forward.

O.A.E.
You probably know the hearing test that is performed on newborns. A small plug in the baby's ear sends a very soft click into the ear. With healthy hearing, the cochlea responds with a reaction emission: the so-called Oto Acoustic Emission.

To be able to prove that we can disable the function of a hair cell, next month we will borrow special measuring equipment that can measure OAEs up to 16,000Hz. A preliminary measurement shows a certain status of the cochlea, and a follow-up measurement shows whether anything has changed. This way, in addition to the patient's experience, we can also objectively measure how the SANTE method works.

 

[IYIiKe]

It is sad that this is receiving funding.

 

[Fields]

It is sad that this is receiving funding.

I believe they shifted away from NeuroVR to SANTE, but I'm not expecting much out of it.

 

[Kam75]

Two days ago, I came across this speech by Dr. Alain Londero, whom I mentioned earlier, at a hearing aid professionals' conference in 2024 (the speech is in French).

He confirms what I said earlier in this thread: even though virtual reality has been beneficial to a certain extent for a few patients, he admits that he was wrong about its usefulness as a potential treatment for tinnitus. It is clearly not a "panacea," in his words.

Of course, I do not blame him for trying to find something, but it is such a pity. So many years wasted, when the only thing that seems to bring any benefit to tinnitus sufferers so far is bimodal stimulation.

 

[Fields]

I received another update. Here is the part that mentions progress on the SANTE method:

Our latest invention, SANTE (Selective Audio-Tactile Neuromodulation for Tinnitus Elimination), targets cochlear tinnitus, giving us for the first time a gateway to address the source of tinnitus.

We have succeeded on an experimental basis (N=2). This is promising, but not enough. We want to prove, through validated data, that this treatment will make a real difference.

This validation study will be carried out in collaboration with the LUMC and tinnitus expert Jan de Laat. Once we have validation, this will be the breakthrough and the first step toward a solid treatment for tinnitus.

Along with another funding request, they attached a prospectus that included some information on SANTE:

4.3 SELECTIVE AUDIO-TACTILE NEUROMODULATION FOR TINNITUS ELIMINATION (SANTE®)

Our latest invention makes it possible to address the source of tinnitus — which is usually noise-induced damage. Partially damaged hair cells cause a continuous tone, whereas fully damaged hair cells result in deafness.

By using ultra-short, strong, and targeted sound waves, we are able to paralyze the source of tinnitus.

Initial experiments (N=3) show a definitive removal of this frequency, but through thorough research together with the LUMC, we want to validate this technique.

SANTE® has a patent pending.

I haven't really done any further research on this, but I figured some of you might find this interesting.

 

[momus]

Not much is known about NeuroVR. The Antinnitus website mentions that the combination of virtual reality and neurofeedback gives the user the opportunity to create an environment that can train the brain to let go of the tinnitus signal.

Basic science and an understanding of how things work in the real world make it clear that this is impossible. Once neural connections are made, they remain, and I know of no way to undo any of them. Even if that were somehow magically possible, how would you deal with the synaptic connections? You cannot deal with them, because there are more possible synaptic connections within one human brain than there are atoms in the known universe (Dr. Richard Restak, The Brain Has a Mind of Its Own). This has been known for at least 30 to 40 years, and nothing has changed.