Otoharmonics (The Levo® Therapy System for Tinnitus)

I'm a retired teacher with time on my hands and have been through numerous therapies: Shea Clinic, UST, Sound Therapy International, CBT, acupuncture, and hypnotherapy, although on the last few mentioned I only had one or two sessions. I guess you would say I'm an easy mark.

The audiologist I spoke to and mentioned previously was able to lower her tinnitus volume by ten decibels using the Levo system and that was in forty days of use. I also had a long conversation with a couple of different representatives of the company. As we know therapies have different results in different patients but I have now found a provider in my area with whom I have an appointment next week.

I know it's expensive but she includes the testing and counseling in the cost. There is also a thirty day trial period with a restock fee but the refund is not issued unless you have used the system as prescribed. The system may not be right for me; that has yet to be determined but if it is I will probably try it.

They say it's simply an habituation tool but it's seems it could lower intensity as well.

My goal is to get some relief and I don't care how much it costs if it's within my means.

I will let you know in about a month how it's working but for now I'm keeping my expectations low.

 

Another failed attempt to find relief. The Levo system was a bust.

Returned it for a refund. Terribly annoying to listen to the sound of your own tinnitus. Also the pitch was set too low and my protests were largely ignored in that regard. Wouldn't recommend this. Thankfully I've reached habituation of reaction though and the volume is better than it was this time last year.

My hope for the future lies with companies currently in clinical trials or headed there like GenVec working with Novartis, SciFluor, and Otonomy. I continue to pray.

 

I suggest avoiding the Levo iOS app for now. I was in the process of removing apps from my iPod and installing equivalent apps on my Android when I opened the Levo app and discovered I can't do anything with it. When I tap the "Sleep" or "Awake" buttons I am told "There is no therapy loaded, please contact your healthcare professional." The "TFI" button asks a bunch of questions about my T but doesn't give me access to the audio afterward. The "Appointment" button shows me a screen that says "Awaiting connecction."

I'm using the iOS 10.1.1 and the app version is 2.3.0. Maybe they changed the app so you had to meet with one of their approved partners to get access to the audio? Anyway, don't waste your time on that app.

 

So has anyone tried the Levo system? Any help tips/feedback would be super helpful! I looked at their research trials...very small sample..and it looks like it is super expensive. Has anyone tried the app??

 

I am starting Levo systems on June 22 2017 for a thirty days trail, cost $4000, if succeed, if not only $200. the ringing is like tea pot going for in my head, so I will keep everybody if it work.

 

https://thetinnitusclinic.co.uk/tinnitus-treatment/tinnitus-sound-stimulation-during-sleep

So the people that brought ACN to the UK are doing this as well £4500

 

Hey @carlover! You sound like you've tried most therapies out there. I'm wondering if you've tried The Tinnitus Clinic. They've got the license for the Levo System too now and state that they will charge £500 for the earphones, even if you cancel the treatment. This is obscene of course and makes me dubious about the method. Have you had any experience with this organisation?

 

Hi,
I have booked an appointment with a place here in NYC that uses this system among others. Mine is a work mans comp case and they said they will take it. I do need some assistant on this. Just found out about this on this form today so we will see. Keep you posted.

Best Denis

 

HI FAB yes I went to them re ACN which didnt work ......have to say my overall experience of them was that they are a very well meaning organisation ( it is a privately owned business of course) Anyone going there ask for the head audiologist hes is very good. See they are in 10 towns now amazing growth.

 

Thanks @carlover! Do you see yourself trying out the Levo system through the clinic? Or are you done with iPod and earpiece sound therapies?

 

I am done buddy with all of it ,I have spent thousands ....

 

I just got the Levo System.

My audiologist didn't even know how to use it. Guess he was trained a week ago. You have to know what tone you have. How can you do that when it changes from day to day. So I picked a sound and slept with it.

Now my brain feels like it is going explode. And you can't change it without going to him. Just can lower the volume.

If this is how this works not my cup of tea. Ears are just blaring.

 

Heard a lot about it; not much from people who successfully used it.

http://www.news-medical.net/news/20...ze-at-prestigious-medical-award-ceremony.aspx

 

@smel : I am a little bit confused : what is the technical difference between the Levo Ios app described by you (https://itunes.apple.com/fr/app/levo/id929852159?mt=8) and the Levo system sold by the certified providers of Otoharmonics (https://otoharmonics.com/patients/) ? Is it only the furniture of the Apple device and the earbuds ?

 

It would be sure great to see some scientific evidence regarding this system.

 

@Dma, what kind of tones do they use with the Levo system? Are they a replica of your exact tinnitus sounds?

 

More info about the Levo system: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/cdrh_docs/pdf14/K140845.pdf

 

I don't get these. I know they can work. Brian who has posted on here got one and it saved his life (He is legit, I became friends with him and he isn't lying). This is a new one and it has gotten top awards. I will call and check it out...

but...

how is this any different than putting in masking music on an iphone? Also aren't we not supposed to be wearing ear buds or headphones overnight? Isn't that supposed to make T worse?

http://www.news-medical.net/news/20...ze-at-prestigious-medical-award-ceremony.aspx

 

Your masking music isn't crafted specifically for your T. ACRN, Levo, Windowed White Noise, and some other sound therapies are.

Depends who you ask. Some people are a bit dogmatic about it.

 

The Levo tones piped into your ear are modulated, whatever that means. They're not straight masking sounds.

 

The Levo is a protocol rather than a new sound therapy: The main principle is that one can use the sleep period for habituation because the auditory system never really sleeps, and thus, avoiding to "wear" the sound therapy during the day. They provide customized earbuds that supposed to be confortable in bed, and a system that will dial up a sound similar to your T. Using apps like myNoise offers comparable capability. MyNoise have equalizers that in many cases are sufficient to match your T frequency. Most T suffered have the high frequencies damaged, and I found the 7-8KHz and the 13KHz bands good enough to match my T. MyNoise offers many variations of therapeutic noises (e.g. Isochronic tones is what is offered by Sound Cure). In summary, the Levo can be replicated at home for just a few dollars. There are also many options for headphones/earbuds that are comfortable in bed. In my case, I am waiting for the kokoon system to ship. https://kokoon.io/

 

@InfiniteLoop, the Levo specs state that they use amongst other sounds, amplitude modulated sounds based on your tinnitus frequency. How do you get this effect on domestic equipment or do you need special devices? And if using this protocol at night is for convenience sake, do you think notch therapy and ACRN could also be used in this same way?

 

You don't need any special device. The device they use are simple iPod-like devices.
You need the know-how to generate those types of signals (and before you do that, you need the correct specification of the signal).

 

@Fabrikat
Amplitude modulation is an old form of brainwave entrainment. Again, you can visit the MyNoise website or download their app. Isochronic tones is the most typical form of amplitude modulation, and similar to what is offered by SoundCure. Isochronic tones are in MyNoise, and it is basically free ($1 as far as I recall). I am attaching the paper showing the effects of different kinds of modulation. This is just sound therapy, do not expect too much from it (help habituation mostly in spite of very bold claims).

 

do you think it's safe to wear the ear buds from the contraption all night?

 

This paper was posted on TT recently regards amplitude modulation. It looks very promising.It would good to try and duplicate it if at all possible.

http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnagi.2017.00130/full

 

Actually I was able to find original study and it looks they were using custom molded earplugs. The process of matching your tinnitus seemed also to be quite complex. Any idea which eq in mynoise web should I use to match my high frequency not tonal T?

 

I have been using this for about 2 months now. I would say that it has helped me to some degree but it is not nearly as effective as I hoped. Also, the tinnitus matching software can be tricky to figure out . I still feel like I don't have an exact match of my tinnitus sounds.

 

I found this online:

A new strategy for idiopathic subjective tinnitus treatment - sound stimulation during sleep - has been applied. It was based on the acknowledgement that the auditory system also works during sleep, processing the incoming information. Eleven patients were stimulated every night during 6 months. The stimulus was a sound that mimetized the tinnitus and was fixed at the same tinnitus intensity, applied through an iPod. All patients decreased their tinnitus intensity in the first month of treatment (statistically significant), most of them in the first week. Tinnitus intensity continued decreasing in the following weeks; three patients presented periods of total silence.

Have you ever heard about this?
Which sounds should be used for this treatment?

 

seems like a rather small study group. link to study would be helpful.