Overview
- The study tested subtly modified synthetic musical notes against placebo sounds in 77 adults using a crossover design.
- Participants listened online for one hour daily over six weeks, paused for three weeks, then switched sounds for another six weeks.
- Only the active sounds produced a significant quietening of symptoms, with benefits lasting roughly three weeks after treatment ended.
- Researchers propose the approach works by disrupting synchronous firing of auditory neurons thought to generate the phantom sound.
- RNID described the early results as highly promising, and the therapy could potentially be delivered through a smartphone app or embedded in everyday audio.