SoundCure launches Serenade tinnitus treatment system in the UK

22 April 2013

SoundCure Inc. has announced the launch of the Serenade tinnitus treatment system that offers tinnitus sufferers potential relief using S-Tones, customized treatment sounds developed by leading hearing researchers at the University of California.

Tinnitus, or “ringing ears” affects approximately 10% of UK adults and an estimated 260 million people globally. It can be extremely debilitating, leading to depression, irritability, and difficulty sleeping or concentrating.

Serenade is a handheld device that is programmed in the clinician’s office for each individual patient according to his specific condition. Through the device’s earphones, the patient listens to therapeutic sounds which are designed to address the underlying neurological cause of tinnitus. Four different treatment sounds are available, anchored by advanced, proprietary S-Tones. Long-term relief can be achieved when used in an ongoing sound therapy program.

Sound therapy as a tinnitus treatment is well-established and effective. S-Tones are low frequency, amplitude modulated tones that are frequency pitch-matched to a patient’s unique tinnitus, representing a significant clinical breakthrough compared to previous approaches. According to Dr Fan-Gang Zeng, one of the technology inventors, these modulated tones “keep the brain’s interest” thus “reducing the perceived tinnitus sound and bringing relief”. In addition, S-Tones are intended to be “listened to at a volume that is lower than the patient’s tinnitus, reducing the sound burden,” according to Dr. Zeng.