Oto: Tinnitus Sounds & Support

I have a long history of different forms of tinnitus associated with moderate to severe binaural hearing loss that have been accumulating over the years to the point that I recently felt so overwhelmed I didn’t know if I could take it any longer. I had heard that masking apps were available online and in my desperation I found Oto and am very glad I did. I think it’s very well-designed and it’s obvious that a lot of careful thought has gone into it. My biggest problem with tinnitus is falling asleep, and the therapy session which I do just before going to bed and the selection of masking sounds are a tremendous help - and not just for falling asleep but in other areas of my life as well. I’m so grateful.

My tinnitus is caused by sudden sensorineural hearing loss that occurred in March 2020, just as the world was shutting down due to COVID. In a matter of hours, I lost all of the high frequency hearing in my left ear, and gained a constant but fluctuating screeching. I saw multiple ENTs and was simply told, your brain will adjust. While the number of bad days has certainly reduced, I still have days when I can’t focus on anything but the constant noise inside my head. While I’ve only been using the app for a short time, I can tell that the tools they provide will help speed the process of my brain’s adjustment. The breath work has already helped me control the anxiety the ringing causes. The therapy sessions are short, so they aren’t overly intrusive and I can squeeze them into my day easily. The way the background noise is tuned to your tinnitus specifically is amazing- I’ve also used the in app to show others in my life exactly what my tinnitus sounds like, which helps me feel less isolated in dealing with this. Anyway, thanks for the app. I wish I’d found it sooner.

I found this app while in a stage of such severe tinnitus that I was experiencing a panic attack. Only those who are living with tinnitus can appreciate what that kind of experience is like. Between the therapy sessions, the masking sounds, and personal correspondence with members of the staff via email, I gained control, and brought my tinnitus to a manageable level, within a couple of days. Working this program is keeping it there. This program teaches that it is anxiety that increases the symptoms of tinnitus to unbearable levels. Working this program, training your brain to utilize the tools learned here in therapy sessions to become second nature, automatic habits and responses, combats the anxiety, and brings tinnitus down to, and keeps it at, a manageable level. After years of living with this condition, this is the first truly effective means of consistently controlling my tinnitus I have found. Definitely five stars.