#Industry News
IMPLANT FROM MICROTRANSPONDER PROMISES RELIEF FOR TINNITUS SUFFERERS
The Serenity System Stimulates the Vagus Nerve to Retrain the Brain
Tinnitus is a condition that affects ten per cent of the world’s population, however only one to two per cent of people suffer the chronic version. Now, the Serenity System, from Texas based MicroTransponder is promising to provide a solution to these chronic sufferers. It is claimed the device can eliminate the ringing noise endured by sufferers by retraining the brain.
Currently, those afflicted with the chronic form are giving hearing-aid-type devices that merely mask the noise. The Serenity System works in a completely different way and involves implanting a transmitter next to the vagus nerve. The idea behind the system is to retrain neurons in the brain’s auditory cortex through a two fold process. First the tinnitus is triggered by playing different frequencies akin to the problematic one. At the same time the implant stimulates the vagus nerve with small pulses. The pulses cause the body to release chemicals that enable the brain to reconfigure itself.
Four clinical trials are currently underway in the US and a commercial version could be approved as early as mid-2015.