To get a better understanding of tinnitus symptoms and how to manage them, check out our page on Tinnitus.


How Do Tinnitus Apps Help You Manage Your Symptoms?

Tinnitus apps work to provide support in a variety of ways. These include:

  • Sound therapy: many apps offer sound therapy that uses background noises like natural sounds, white noise, or customised tones to help mask tinnitus.2 
  • Stress reduction: managing stress is crucial for tinnitus relief.3 Apps offering meditation and relaxation techniques can help lower anxiety and improve your overall well-being. 
  • Monitoring and tracking: some apps can assist those with tinnitus by tracking your symptoms so you can better understand your triggers and patterns.
  • Education and support: many tinnitus apps provide educational resources, including tips on lifestyle changes and coping strategies.


The Best Apps for Comprehensive Tinnitus Relief

For a well-rounded approach to tinnitus management, these apps incorporate a mix of relaxation exercises, soundscapes, and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).

  • Rewiring Tinnitus Relief Project: this app helps tinnitus sufferers find relief through habituation as the brain starts to tune out and ignore your tinnitus sound.4 Featuring guided tinnitus meditation tracks, sleep induction tracks, guided tinnitus spike relief techniques, and relaxation tracks, you’ll find yourself entering a state of relaxation with ease. Available online and on SoundCloud.
 
  • Quieten: hailing from tinnitus expert and therapist Julian Cowan Hill, this app features a variety of audio and educational content to help you habituate and better understand tinnitus.5 Available in the Apple and Google Play store.
 
  • OTO: Tinnitus Relief and Therapy: this tinnitus therapy app features a variety of tools to help you habituate with cognitive behavioural therapy lessons and techniques.6 There are also relaxation techniques and breathing exercises to help you find relief from tinnitus symptoms. Available in the Apple and Google Play store.
 

The Best Apps for Sound Masking

Sound masking is used to make a space quieter and less distracting.7 The practice involves using various types of background noise to partially cover the sound of your tinnitus. For those experiencing tinnitus, sound masking is an effective tool to help you focus less on the tinnitus. Consider these top apps for sound masking. 

  • myNoise: with a large library of soundscapes and relaxing ambiences, you can choose from birdsong, rain, and chimes to help mask your tinnitus.8 Available in the Apple and Google Play store.
 
  • NatureSpace: this sound masking app features a huge selection of nature soundscapes that will have you feeling deeply connected to the natural world.9 
    Available in the Apple and Google Play store.
 

The Best Apps For Meditation and Stress Relief

Stress management is critical to managing tinnitus, and studies suggest that mindfulness-based approaches can greatly benefit people with chronic tinnitus10. These useful apps offer mindfulness and meditation support. 

  • Waking Up: from author Sam Harris, this meditation app is an exceptional resource for those experiencing tinnitus.11 With mindfulness meditation at your fingertips, you’ll be equipped to tackle stress, calm anxiety, and focus on breathing. Available in the Apple and Google Play store.

 

  • Insight Timer: this popular meditation app features over 60,000 free guided meditations, breathing exercises, and music tracks for optimal relaxation and stress relief.12 Whether you want to meditate for better sleep, anxiety relief, focus, or relaxation, you can set custom meditation sessions to build into your daily routine. Available in the Apple and Google Play store.

 

  • Prana Breath: ‘Calm & Meditate’: this guided breathing app features 8 pre-set breathing protocols, visual and audio cues, as well as custom breathing sessions.13 It’s a powerful tool to aid with relaxation, meditation, and stress relief. Available in the Apple and Google Play store.


Apps can be a helpful resource for those experiencing tinnitus, offering relief and strategies to help manage symptoms. Even so, the benefits of these apps are limited and should not be considered a replacement for professional hearing care. 

 

Hearing aids are commonly used to enhance auditory clarity and mitigate tinnitus symptoms. By delivering sound directly into the ear, they help reduce the prominence of tinnitus, providing both symptom relief and improved sound quality. You can find out more from our expert audiologist here.

 

If you or someone you know is struggling with tinnitus, book an appointment at your local Connect Hearing clinic. Our friendly team will check your hearing and help you manage any concerns so you can be confident in your hearing health. 

 

References:

  1. National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (1 May 2023), Tinnitus, National Institute of Health, accessed 7 January 2025. 
  2. Harvard Health Publishing (8 December 2021), Tinnitus: Ringing or humming in your ears? Sound therapy is one option, Harvard Medical School, accessed 7 January 2025. 
  3. Clinical Practice & Epidemiology in Mental Health (31 October 2018), Tinnitus: The Sound of Stress?, National Library of Medicine, accessed 7 January 2025. 
  4. Rewiring Tinnitus (n.d.), The Tinnitus Relief Project, Rewiring Tinnitus, accessed 7 January 2025. 
  5. Quieten (n.d), Let go of Tinnitus with Quieten, www.quietenapp.com, accessed 7 January 2025. 
  6. Oto (n.d.), Tune out tinnitus, tune back into life, www.joinoto.com, accessed 7 January 2025. 
  7. Cloud Clover Music (n.d), Sound Masking: How It Works & Why You Need It | Insights, accessed 12 January 2025.
  8. myNoise (n.d.), Custom Soundscapes to Focus, Relax & Sleep, https://mynoise.net, accessed 7 January 2025. 
  9. Nature Space Holographic Audio (n.d.), Immerse Yourself, www.naturespace.org, accessed 7 January 2025. 
  10. Ear Hear (2018 Mar/Apr), Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Chronic Tinnitus: Evaluation of Benefits in a Large Sample of Patients Attending a Tinnitus Clinic, National Library of Medicine, accessed 7 January 2025.
  11. Waking Up (n.d.), A new operating system for your mind, www.wakingup.com, accessed 7 January 2025. 
  12. Insight Timer (n.d.), Meditation, https://insighttimer.com, accessed 7 January 2025. 
  13. Google Play (n.d.), Prana Breath: Calm & Meditate, https://play.google.com, accessed 7 January 2025. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References:

  1. The Heuser Hearing Institute Hearing & Language Academy (13 October 2023), The Relationship Between Hearing Loss and Mental Fatigue, Heuser Hearing Institute, accessed 9 September 2024.
  2. Phonak Field Study News, “Speech Enhancer reduces listening effort and fatigue”, Latzel, M, Heeren, J and Lesimple, C. (August 2024) retrieved from www.phonak.com/evidence, accessed 9 September 2024. Study financially sponsored by Sonova. 
  3. Phonak Field Study News, “Spheric Speech Clarity applies DNN signal processing to significantly improve speech understanding from any direction and reduce the listening effort.” Wright, A., et al (August 2024) retrieved from www.phonak.com/evidence, accessed 9 September 2024. Study financially sponsored by Sonova.