Headphones that swap sounds from one ear to the other could be a radical new treatment for tinnitus — the ringing noise in the ears that affects around five million people in the UK.
The results of a small trial suggest that using the headsets for two hours a day for three weeks significantly reduces tinnitus. Many people suffer temporary tinnitus, but for around one in 100, the ringing is long term and is often combined with hearing loss. T his leaves cells in the auditory cortex switched on so they constantly relay sound to the brain, causing people to 'hear' ringing, for instance. In some, the cells remain in this 'switched on' state.
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