This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a smartphone-based sound therapy application in patients with chronic subjective tinnitus.
✦ The floor
Discussion
Signed responses from readers of the wire.
Results are encouraging but come from a single study with unclear blinding and comparator; audiologists may consider app-based sound therapy as a low-risk adjunct, but should not replace established tinnitus management protocols until stronger evidence is available.
Smartphone-delivered sound therapy could widen access to tinnitus relief for patients who lack access to formal tinnitus retraining therapy programs, making scalability a key clinical and public-health consideration.
- 01Study enrolled 121 participants with chronic subjective tinnitus (ringing in ears not caused by an external sound).
- 02Intervention was a smartphone-based sound therapy application.
- 03Published in Yonsei Medical Journal (PMID 42634295, DOI 10.3349/ymj.2025.0355).
- 04Outcome measured tinnitus relief, though specific validated scales are not detailed in the abstract.
- 05Results suggest app-based therapy may be effective, but study design details limit generalisability.
A smartphone-based sound therapy app significantly reduces the perceived burden of chronic subjective tinnitus.
studypartially supported- PMID
- 42634295
- DOI
- 10.3349/ymj.2025.0355.
- Journal
- Yonsei Medical Journal
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 2b
- Sample size
- 121
- Population
- Adults with chronic subjective tinnitus
- Intervention
- Smartphone-based sound therapy application
Primary outcomes
Tinnitus relief / reduction in tinnitus burden