A method (of treating a patient who has tinnitus) includes: providing to the patient a series of tones including at least a single tone which is at least a half-octave outside a tinnitus frequency of the patient; and applying vagus nerve stimulation to the patient to induce a period of plasticity in a cortex of the patient that is transitory and that represents a transitory opportunity for learning to occur; and wherein the at least a single tone occurs during the transitory opportunity for learning.

Disclosed herein, among other things, are methods and apparatus for a user interface control to allow control of multiple parameters from a single control for a hearing assistance device. One aspect of the present subject matter relates to hearing assistance device for a wearer, including a housing, hearing assistance electronics housed in the housing, and a tinnitus therapy generator housed in the housing. A user interface control is connected to the electronics and the generator, and the control is configured to sense input from the wearer and provide for selection and adjustment of operational parameters for the electronics and the generator based on the sensed input. Other aspects are provided without departing from the scope of the present subject matter.

Disclosed herein are apparatuses for manipulation of an ear device within the ear canal of a subject. Also disclosed herein are methods of using said apparatuses for the insertion, removal, or other manipulations of the ear device. Also disclosed herein are methods of making the apparatuses, and kits containing the apparatus with instructions for use.

Disclosed herein are apparatuses for manipulation of an ear device within the ear canal of a subject. Also disclosed herein are methods of using said apparatuses for the insertion, removal, or other manipulations of the ear device. Also disclosed herein are methods of making the apparatuses, and kits containing the apparatus with instructions for use.

A method for guiding deep breathing may include receiving a request from a user to initiate a deep breathing exercise on a user-controlled device. The method may include monitoring deep breathing using one or more sensors on an ear-worn device in response to initiating the deep breathing exercise. Examples of sensors include at least one of a motion detector, a microphone, a heart rate sensor, and an electrophysiological sensor. The method may further include initiating an end to the deep breathing exercise. The method may be used with various hearing systems including an ear-worn device and optionally a user-controllable device, such as a smartphone.

Disclosed are a massage device providing a tinnitus treatment program and a control method therefor. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, disclosed is a method by which a massage device provides a tinnitus treatment program. The method by which the massage device provides the tinnitus treatment program comprises the steps of: obtaining tinnitus information about a user; adjusting the magnitude of at least some of a plurality of frequency components included in a raw sound source and then flattening the raw sound source, so as to generate a first processed sound source; reducing the magnitude of at least some of a plurality of frequency components included in the first processed sound source on the basis of the obtained tinnitus information, so as to generate a tinnitus treatment sound source; and providing a tinnitus treatment program in which the generated tinnitus treatment sound source and tinnitus treatment massage are combined.

A hearing device directly or indirectly connected to a server through a network, the hearing device being provided with: an input unit that acquires sound data from the outside; a communication unit that transmits the sound data to the server, and receives a parameter set generated on the basis of the analysis result obtained by analyzing the sound data in the server; a storage unit that stores the parameter set; and an adjustment unit that, on the basis of the parameter set, adjusts gains of a plurality of prescribed frequencies.

A method for personalized sound modification, with a personal sound system having a microphone; a user device which includes a processor, computer readable medium, and optionally the microphone; and a sound output device; is provided. The method includes: providing a user hearing profile including lower and upper limits of the user's auditory dynamic range at a plurality of sound frequencies, prepared with the personal sound system; receiving a sound signal from the microphone; optionally separating the sound signal into a plurality of frequency channels; amplifying or attenuating sound frequencies in the sound signal which have a volume level outside the lower or upper limits of the user's auditory dynamic range, respectively, and forming a modified sound signal with which the sound output device will produce sounds within the user's auditory dynamic range; and providing the modified sound signal to the sound output device.

A hearing aid comprises a) an input transducer; b) an output transducer; c) an input buffer connected to the input transducer configured to store audio data representing one or more time segments of an electric input signal; d) an own voice detector for providing an own voice control signal, and e) a combiner allowing to insert audio data from the input buffer in a forward audio signal path. The hearing aid further comprises f) an input controller configured to control storage of a time segment of the electric input signal in dependence of said own voice control signal; and g) an output controller configured to select audio data from said one or more time segments of the electric input signal currently stored in the input buffer for insertion in the forward path in dependence of an output control signal originating from the user.

A method for guiding deep breathing may include receiving a request from a user to initiate a deep breathing exercise on a user-controlled device. The method may include monitoring deep breathing using one or more sensors on an ear-worn device in response to initiating the deep breathing exercise. Examples of sensors include at least one of a motion detector, a microphone, a heart rate sensor, and an electrophysiological sensor. The method may further include initiating an end to the deep breathing exercise. The method may be used with various hearing systems including an ear-worn device and optionally a user-controllable device, such as a smartphone.