12-05-2025
New device helps patients cope with tinnitus, Pennsylvania audiologist says
A growing number of patients are turning to a new treatment for a condition that causes ringing in the ears.
The device tricks the brain with a tickle to the tongue.
Silence really is golden for Clara Flores. Her days used to be filled with the constant buzzing and ringing that comes with tinnitus, which affects 25 million Americans.
"This ringing that you hate and can't stand ... you cannot turn it off," Flores said. "You get depressed, you get angry. Your relationships suffer."
But the maddening noise is not a hearing problem, according to Bala Cynwyd audiologist Gail Brenner.
"Tinnitus is a sound that we perceive in our ears or head that's internally generated by the brain," Brenner said.
And now, for the first time, she says there's finally a treatment that works for most patients
Lenire is an FDA-approved device that works with headphones and a tongue stimulator.
The electrical pulses from the device "feel like bubbly Champagne," she said. "It's just a tiny little tingle, and that's all we need for the signal to transmit to the brain."
Lenire costs $4,000 and isn't covered by insurance. It worked for Flores, who listened to the soothing sounds with the mouthpiece for 12 weeks — twice a day for half an hour.
"It did magic to my brain," Flores said.
The maker of Lenire says it works by retraining the brain not to hear the sounds from tinnitus that can be caused by loud noise, hearing loss and infections.
"We're teaching the brain to not pay attention to the tinnitus," Brenner said. "It has been a game-changer."
Flores thinks her tinnitus was caused by an infection, but she doesn't notice the buzzing anymore.
"It doesn't bother me. I forget about it," Flores said.
Her brain is refocused and noise-free now, giving her a new lease on life.
Research on the Lenire device showed that about 80% of the people who tested it had significant improvements.
