I used to work with some of the folks at Etymotic who took an interest in my shooting team. I’ve had tinnitus for about 31 years now so I asked them about it since they’re all audiologists. Here is a response I got…
“Thanks for reaching out to us; Gail forwarded your email to me. I am no longer at Etymotic, but am in clinical practice as an audiologist. I met other members of your team, working together at Shot Show in Vegas when I was still at Etymotic, and I'm glad to hear you had another good year.
The Neuromod research and device are currently experimental, not FDA approved for use in the US, and not available clinically. On the positive side, the approach--bimodal somatosensory stimulation--appears to show some real promise. In this approach, auditory stimuli (sound therapy) is combined with electrical stimuli to another area of the body (cheek, neck, or, as with Neuromod--the tongue). As explained by Susan Shore, PhD, Kresge Research lab at U of Michigan, the root of tinnitus is in the dorsal cochlear nucleus in the brainstem. Loud noise can trigger a change in the nerve cell activity in this area of the brainstem, altering the timing so the nerve cells in this area fire spontaneously, instead of waiting for sound in the environment. Not only do the cells fire, they become hyperactive, and the signal is transmitted to areas of the brain where perception of sound occurs. If these signals (hyperactive firing without external stimuli) can be stopped, tinnitus can be stopped. Researchers at the Kresge Research lab at the U of Michigan hold a patent on the process, which can lead to long-term changes in the rate at which the nerves fire. This aims to reset the activity of the fusiform cells, which would then stop the tinnitus. The research at UM was conducted with subjects who could alter their tinnitus by clenching their jaws, sticking out their tongues, or flexing their necks. The UM study was optimal, as it was done to gold standards--double blind, placebo controlled, crossover design. This means the researchers and the subjects were blinded to which therapy the subjects were receiving; both groups of subjects received a placebo (sham) treatment for comparison; one group received placebo first, then treatment, the other group received treatment and then placebo. They found the sham treatment was not effective, but the bimodal treatment was. That was key. The drawback was their subject pool, who could modulate their tinnitus (as described above). Their research is ongoing.
The Neuromod research did not use a placebo control, nor a blinded study protocol, as far as I can tell. Without a placebo control its impossible to determine how much of the effect is due to just doing something, as well as interaction with professionals. Also, I was unable to determine what their subject inclusion criteria was. On the positive side, they had a large number of subjects, with positive results. On the negative side (besides the lack of blinding and placebo control) is that the therapy was 60 minutes daily for 3 months. But, it appears the results carried over for some subjects at a 1-year follow up.
Research is ongoing, but still promising. Your best bet would be to participate in a clinical trial if possible.
Best to you and the whole Jade team,
Patty
Patty Johnson, Au.D.
Clinical Audiologist”
That was from October of 2020 fwiw.
