Need help improving tinnitus or ringing in the ears? Want to be more aware of the sounds in your environment? How about a wristband that can replace or complement a hearing aid? Well, the Neosensory wristband makes all three of these outcomes possible. By combining bimodal stimulation with the brain’s natural ability to adapt (neuroplasticity), this one-of-a-kind technology can help you overcome the above mentioned issues. Better Brain & Body is happy to welcome Neosensory to our clinic, offering our patients holistic and cutting-edge technology that improves auditory impairments. This blog post will cover three options the Neosensory wristband offers to comprehensively improve auditory function through advanced technology that interacts with the brain:
Duo: retrains the brain to manage tinnitus, or ringing in the ears
Clarify: improve hearing without/alongside hearing aids
Sound Awareness: Connects you deeply to your auditory environment
Please note: The wristband is a 3-in-1 device, offering all three hearing impairment applications in one wristband!
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Neosensory Duo: Tinnitus Treatment
Have you ever experienced ringing in your ears? You’re not alone. 10-15% of people worldwide experience tinnitus, or unwanted sounds in the ears (Cleveland Clinic, 2023). While it has no cure, non-invasive and holistic treatment options can rewire the brain via neuroplasticity, decreasing the brain’s focus on the perception of ringing. One of these options is the Duo, a wearable wristband that uses bimodal stimulation to overcome tinnitus. Check out the 1 minute video below to see how the Neosensory Duo wristband works for this symptom.
What is Tinnitus?
Tinnitus is an auditory illusion. It is the perception of sound when there isn’t an external sound in reality. It is strikingly common, affecting 50 million people in the United States. It is not a condition but a symptom that can be managed and may have an underlying cause or root in the auditory system. Allison Treseder, a Neosensory audiologist, describes this symptom on their resources webpage, “Tinnitus is often described as a high-pitched ringing, buzzing, hissing, whistling, or clicking sound in the ears. The perceived sound can vary in pitch, volume, and quality, and can occur in one or both ears or simply feel like it is in your head.”
Tinnitus Demographics
As mentioned previously, 50 million people struggle with this symptom in the USA, with 20 million being chronic cases and 2 million debilitating cases. 10-15% of people globally experience it. This symptom can affect people of all ages, although it is more frequent in adults over 65. Males are more likely to experience it, which may be explained by men being more likely to work in noisier, conventional, male-dominated work positions. Similarly, loud work environments like construction or musical careers can present ringing in the ears. Allison Treseder also notes that 75-80% of people in loud work environments will experience tinnitus at some point in their careers. Tinnitus is a persistent ringing or buzzing in the ears, unlike the temporary ringing that may follow a loud concert and dissipates. Furthermore, 90% of individuals with hearing loss are susceptible to tinnitus, and other health conditions can be contributing factors. Cardiovascular disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, thyroid disorders, and Meniere’s disease can contribute to its development. In fact, 40% of individuals with Meniere’s have ringing in the ears. Similarly, mental health conditions like severe stress, anxiety, or depression can make people susceptible to the symptom (Neosensory, 2024).
Options for Treatment
Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT)
Sound Therapy
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Ear Level Sound Generators
Neosensory Duo
Neosensory Duo & Tinnitus
For people looking to alleviate tinnitus holistically, Duo is Neosensory’s option for those struggling. They have an easy-to-use app where you select one of three programs:
Duo, Clarify, or Sound Awareness. Once a person selects Duo for tinnitus and puts on their wristband, they undergo a 10-minute program in which the wristband delivers auditory sounds translated into touch perceptions. Dr. David Eagleman, CEO of Neosensory, states, “Research shows that when your brain receives both signals, it rewires itself to reduce the ringing.” Over time and continued daily use, the brain learns to disassociate itself from the ringing.
Understanding Bimodal Stimulation
The Neosensory wristband is built on the therapeutic modality of biomodal stimulation, a form of neuromodulation. Better Brain & Body uses many other neuromodulation devices, such as the Pulsetto and Alpha-Stim. Neuromodulation involves non-invasive nervous system stimulation, helping with various neurological conditions and tinnitus.
Bimodal stimulation means there are two modes (bi-modal) of stimulation to the brain and nervous system: auditory (sound) and somatosensory (touch). A key aspect of brain function is multisensory integration. This is the process of combining information from different senses to create a coherent perception of the world and reality. The brain is incredibly adept at processing sensory information. It receives signals from various senses, including hearing and touch, and integrates them to create a unified perception.
The wristband bridges the gap between sound and touch, enabling the brain to perceive auditory information through tactile (touch) sensation. Sound waves are captured and processed by the auditory system (whether you can hear sound or not). Then, the sound is transformed into patterns of vibration felt on the wrist. The skin detects these vibrations and relays to the brain’s somatosensory (senses) cortex. Over time, the brain learns to interpret these vibrations as sounds, creating a new way to perceive auditory information. Essentially, the tactile vibrations are a direct translation of auditory sounds. This innovative technology leverages neuroplasticity to establish new neural connections, allowing individuals with hearing loss and other auditory impairments to access sound through tactile input. Check out the one-minute video below to understand how this technology works.
Neuroplasticity and its Role
Repeated exposure to synchronized auditory and touch stimuli can stimulate neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections. Bimodal stimulation promotes neuroplasticity, also defined as the brain’s ability to adapt and change in response to injury, environment, etc. Neuroplasticity lets the brain heal after a stroke or brain injury and can be enhanced with various technologies. The wristband enhances neuroplasticity in the brain to help people hear their environment better, process speech without/alongside a hearing aid, and adapt and overcome tinnitus. Sounds pretty crazy, right? Well, check out the video below to gain an interactive understanding of how this technology works.
Neosensory Clarify
Given everything we have discussed about bimodal stimulation and neuroplasticity, we can now dive into the other options the wristband offers, like Clarify. This application is designed for individuals with high-frequency hearing loss. High-frequency hearing loss is the most common type of hearing loss and relates to individuals with difficulty processing high-pitched sounds like children’s voices. Here’s how the Clarify program works:
Sound Detection: The wristband’s built-in microphone picks up environmental sounds.
Sound Analysis: The wristband analyzes incoming sounds and identifies specific high-frequency sounds that are often difficult for people with high-frequency hearing loss to understand.
Vibration Patterns: The wristband creates corresponding vibration patterns based on the identified sounds. These patterns are designed to represent missing sound information.
Tactile Input: The wristband delivers these vibration patterns to the user’s wrist.
Brain Training: Over time, with continued use, the brain learns to associate these vibration patterns with the corresponding sounds. This process is neuroplasticity.
The Clarify program can be used alongside hearing aids or any other technology. It can help people better understand speech in a variety of contexts. Whether it is a one-on-one conversation or a digital medium like TV or podcast, any type of speech audible for the wristband can help people process speech better. Pro Tip: Turn your phone on speaker when conversing with someone so the wristband can pick up on the sounds and convert them into vibrations that the brain translates into a coherent understanding.
Neosensory Sound Awareness
Sound Awareness (formerly called Buzz) is the last component of the wristband's abilities. What we at Better Brain & Body find attractive about the Neosensory wristband, in general, is that it includes all three of its abilities in one wristband, giving people access to various tools without needing three different wristbands. The Sound Awareness component is designed to help individuals with profound hearing loss become more aware of their environment through tactile (touch) vibration sensations. Here’s how it works:
Sound Capture: The wristband’s microphone constantly listens to the surrounding environment.
Sound Analysis: The device processes the captured sounds and identifies various sound categories, such as people talking, doorbells, cars, birds, sirens, and other environmental noises.
Vibration Patterns: Each sound category is assigned a unique vibration.
Tactile Feedback: The wristband delivers vibration patterns to the user’s wrist, which the brain interprets as specific sounds. In other words, you can “feel” sounds like music, voices, cars, sirens, laughter, doors closing, etc.
Over time, the user learns to associate specific vibration patterns with particular sounds, enhancing their ability to perceive and understand their surroundings.
Neosensory for the Deaf
People who are deaf or that have profound hearing loss can derive immense benefit from the wristband (formerly called Buzz), allowing them to experience their world in a new way, feeling sounds in their environment and feeling people's voices through vibrations.
General Recommendations
Everyone should see their audiologist if they are experiencing tinnitus, hearing loss of any type, or deficits in environmental sound awareness. Better Brain & Body does not provide audiology services. However, we offer the Neosensory wristband for patients who wish to address the above hearing impairments, as this is a 3-in-1 device.
Laura Sinnott and other professional audiologists recommend using Neosensory Clarify and hearing aids together for hearing loss. As more research is always needed, they mention that this technology should be used as a complementary therapy or tool, not an absolute replacement at this time, as science is still progressing in this field. It is important to remember that not everyone’s hearing needs will be the same. Some people may have fewer needs than others and may only need a tool like Neosensory to optimize their hearing. Others who have moderate to severe impairments may choose to use a high-quality hearing aid and Neosensory together to optimize hearing.
Pricing
Hearing aids can be incredibly expensive, ranging from $1,000 to $10,000, with higher-quality hearing aids starting at around $4,000, depending on who’s talking. Similarly, cochlear implants, surgically implanted devices in the auditory system that help hearing, can range from $50,000 to $100,000. While hearing aids and cochlear implants can be very beneficial for patients with hearing loss, the cost can be a significant barrier to entry for many people. The company offers a rental option, where patients can rent their wristband at a fraction of the cost with similar benefits or purchase their own for $999, which can be split into four payments of $249. Audiologists mention that many people may be averse to hearing aids entirely. These patients would be the perfect fit for the Neosensory wristband.
Better Brain & Body is a functional neurology clinic and human optimization center in South Charlotte. Our clinic combines a holistic brain-body approach with cutting-edge diagnostic testing equipment and state-of-the-art rehabilitation technologies and therapies to treat various conditions, optimize human health and performance, and enhance brain-to-body function. Better Brain & Body patients interested in purchasing the Neosensory wristband can do so at our clinic. Please call us at 704-752-8100 or click the button below to schedule your complimentary 15-minute phone consultation with our lead doctor, Dr. Alicia Brown, to see if you or a loved one could benefit from this innovative and transformative device.
Sources:
The Cleveland Clinic (2023, December 4). Tinnitus. Cleveland Clinic. Retrieved August 13, 2024, from https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/14164-tinnitus
[Neosensory]. (2017, June 1). Sound to Touch Try out NeoSensory's technology! [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Of2LzQOz_0w
[Neosensory]. (2021, July 22). Neosensory Duo for Tinnitus [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJcur9biw90
[TED]. (2015, March 18). Can we create new senses for humans? | David Eagleman [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4c1lqFXHvqI
Treseder, A. (n.d.). Tinnitus Learning Center. Neosensory. Retrieved August 2, 2024, from https://neosensory.com/resources/tinnitus-relief-center/
[Tuned]. (2022, August 1). Neosensory Speech Clarify Wristband, A Tuned Review. Part 1: Background and How it Works [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5loQIpIRthk
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