Web 'cure' for temporary tinnitus

Two teenage students and their teacher say they have a web-based cure for the ringing in the ears experienced after exposure to high volumes.

Their website, Restored Hearing, sells 60 minute-long therapeutic "hums", which they say have a 99% success rate.

The concept won the runners-up prize at the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition - but some audiologists are calling for a cautious response.

Temporary tinnitus, as the condition is known, lasts for up to 24 hours.

Of 1,000 people surveyed, 92% had suffered from temporary tinnitus, Eimear O'Carroll, 19, said.

Tests on 250 sufferers had "a 99% success rate", she said.

"After coming out of discos or listening to MP3 players they found they had ringing in their ears. Our therapy... stimulated and soothed the ear."

The website was now creating "phenomenal levels of interest," Ms O'Carroll added.

Fellow student Rhona Togher said: "We're on to a winner."

But Marcus Choo, a consultant ear, nose and throat surgeon at Sligo General Hospital, is calling for stringent clinical tests.

"The device works by introducing a low frequency noise to the affected ear, which helps straighten nerve endings... distorted by loud noise.

"These distorted nerve endings are possibly responsible for the tinnitus associated with loud noise exposure.

"It is an innovative approach... and full credit to the girls responsible for the idea.

"As for its potential for a permanent cure for the common form of tinnitus... it is very early days yet.

Clinical scrutiny

"The girls need to undertake further rigorous scientific research such as a randomised-control trial to establish the true efficacy of their device.

"The problem with tinnitus is... there are multiple proposed mechanisms for its cause, and thus a single treatment, or cure, will be difficult to find."

David Baguley, head of audiology at Cambridge University Hospitals and adviser to the British Tinnitus Association, agreed caution was vital.

"Innovative approaches to tinnitus treatment are generally to be encouraged, but they must be subjected to scientific and clinical scrutiny before they can be deemed safe and effective."