Sound therapy for tinnitus.
Notch-filtered audio, frequency-matched to your tinnitus. The standard generic pink-noise approach can make some tinnitus presentations worse — calibration is non-negotiable for clinical effect. AmberRoom's tinnitus mode is a daily-practice masking protocol grounded in the tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT) literature, not a cure.
Tinnitus mode is a Pro feature →Who this is for
People with chronic, evaluated tinnitus — bilateral, subjective, ringing or hissing, present most days. People who've already seen an audiologist and ruled out treatable underlying causes. People who've tried generic white-noise machines and apps and either didn't notice an effect or felt worse afterward. People who want a daily-practice tool, not a quick fix. Not for new-onset, sudden, pulsatile, or unilateral tinnitus — those need clinical evaluation first.
What plays, and why
Calibration — frequency match
First session, you walk through a brief frequency-matching test: a tone slider lets you find the closest match to your tinnitus pitch (most chronic tinnitus sits between 4 kHz and 8 kHz). A second pass balances loudness against the masking layer. Calibration takes about 90 seconds and persists across sessions. You can recalibrate any time.
Layer 1 — notch-filtered broadband
The masking layer is broadband noise with a narrow notch (≈1 octave wide) silenced around your calibrated tinnitus frequency. The notch is the active mechanism — it prevents the masking sound from feeding more energy into the band where your tinnitus already lives. Spectrum favors lower frequencies for comfort during long listening sessions.
Layer 2 — soft pad (Pro)
A near-still warm pad sits underneath at very low volume. Optional. Many tinnitus users prefer the recipe with the pad off — pure notched noise — because anything musical can pull attention back to the tinnitus by contrast. The pad is there for users who want it; the calibrated noise is the active ingredient.
No binaural, no bowls
Tinnitus mode runs without binaural beats or bowl harmonics. Bowls have rich high-frequency partials that overlap with most tinnitus pitches; binaural carriers add tonal content the masking is meant to avoid. The recipe is deliberately spare.
Pacing — 30 or 60 minutes, daily
The TRT literature uses 30+ minutes of daily exposure across multiple weeks for measurable change in perceived loudness. AmberRoom's tinnitus mode runs 30 or 60 minutes (Pro). Most users build it into a fixed daily slot — pre-sleep is the most common, since tinnitus is loudest in quiet rooms.
What the research says
Tailor-made notched music — listened to daily — produced significant reductions in tinnitus loudness and corresponding reductions in auditory cortex activity over a twelve-month follow-up. Effect was specific to the notch-filtering: matched-volume unfiltered music in a control group did not produce the same effect. The proof-of-mechanism citation for the notch-filtered approach.
This sits alongside the broader tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT) literature pioneered by Jastreboff & Hazell, which combines daily sound exposure with directive counseling. AmberRoom delivers the audio component — calibrated, daily, structured — without the counseling component. For users with significant distress, working with a TRT-trained audiologist alongside the audio is the studied protocol.
What this isn't
- Not a cure. No sound therapy, app, or device cures tinnitus. The honest claim is reduced perceived loudness and reduced emotional salience over weeks of daily practice.
- Not a substitute for clinical evaluation. If your tinnitus is new, sudden, pulsatile, unilateral, or accompanied by hearing loss or vertigo, see an audiologist before starting any masking protocol.
- Not generic pink noise. The standard sleep recipe and most consumer noise machines feed energy into the high frequencies where tinnitus typically sits, which can worsen the percept. Calibration is the difference.
- Not a replacement for CBT or TRT counseling. The behavioral and cognitive components of TRT are doing real work that audio alone can't. AmberRoom is the daily audio practice; counseling is its own thing.
Common questions
Can sound therapy actually help tinnitus?
Yes for symptom relief, no for cure. Tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT) and notch-filtered sound therapy have decades of clinical use, with moderate evidence that calibrated audio reduces the perceived loudness and emotional salience of tinnitus over weeks of daily exposure. The mechanism is partly masking and partly central-auditory neuroplasticity. Importantly: the standard generic 'pink noise for sleep' approach can make some tinnitus presentations worse — calibration matters.
Why does AmberRoom's regular sleep recipe say not to use it for tinnitus?
Because pink noise has more energy in the low-mid frequencies than is needed, and broadband noise without a notch can fatigue the auditory system at the same frequencies your tinnitus sits in — sometimes worsening the percept after a few nights. Tinnitus mode runs notch-filtered audio (a narrow band silenced around your tinnitus frequency) and a different overall spectrum. Same engine, different recipe.
How does the calibration work?
On Pro, the tinnitus calibration walks you through frequency-matching: a tone slider lets you find the closest match to your tinnitus pitch, with a brief loudness-balance step. The recipe then notches that exact frequency band out of the masking layer. Calibration is non-negotiable for clinical effect — generic noise doesn't reliably help.
How long does it take to see results?
Daily exposure of 30–60 minutes for several weeks is the protocol used in most clinical TRT studies. Some users feel masking relief within the first session (the tinnitus is less audible while the audio plays); the longer-term reduction in perceived loudness is the slower, more variable outcome. Treat it as a daily practice, not a single-session fix.
Is this a substitute for seeing an audiologist?
No. New-onset tinnitus, sudden tinnitus, tinnitus with hearing loss, or tinnitus with vertigo all warrant clinical evaluation — there are real underlying causes (acoustic trauma, otosclerosis, vascular conditions, ototoxic medications) that need diagnosis. AmberRoom is for chronic, evaluated tinnitus where you've already ruled out treatable causes and you're managing the symptom day-to-day.
What if my tinnitus is pulsatile or in only one ear?
See a clinician. Pulsatile tinnitus (rhythmic, often matching heartbeat) and unilateral tinnitus can indicate vascular or structural conditions that need imaging. AmberRoom's tinnitus mode is built for the common bilateral subjective tinnitus presentation — not for these less common variants.
Free tier explores the rest of AmberRoom; tinnitus calibration unlocks on Pro.
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