Music Technology for Tinnitus Treatment Within Tinnet

Overexposure to loud music can cause tinnitus, but musical stimulation at a well adjusted loudness level can be also a key strategy for its treatment. in this conference on Music Induced Hearing Disorders, we report on our music-based technologies for tinnitus treatment. in this context, we introduce TINNET, an EU-funded multidisciplinary network currently investigating, among others, the effect of these technologies on different tinnitus subtypes. TINNET also focuses on the identification of clinical characteristics, neuronal correlates, and molecular genetics of these subtypes. Furthermore, we present the results of a pilot study funded by TINNET. The study evaluated the effect of a novel sound therapy highly rooted on music technology. The study revealed promising results and it also identified a crucial problem experienced by the patients: Due to their lack of appropriate ear training, it was difficult for them to perform an accurate pitch match. To address this challenge, we present our approach aiming at developing a set of tools for ear training. We propose such training to be essential to effectively apply any therapy which relies on a precise pitch match.