Boots Hearingcare announces new self-help app for tinnitus sufferers

SilentCloudTM is a groundbreaking new app that aims to help people struggling with the symptoms of tinnitus, a condition whereby people hear a continuous sound inside their ears. The self-help tool has been launched in the Republic of Ireland by Boots Hearingcare to combine cognitive behavioural therapy, education, and sound therapies into an app-based format to help relieve the symptoms of tinnitus.

According to research in 2019, 15% of the adult population are affected by tinnitus1 and 20% of those suffering with the condition find it bothersome, or even debilitating, requiring clinical intervention.1 Although both men and women suffer from tinnitus, women are often affected more severely and are more likely to develop depression and anxiety if not treated2.

“The new SilentCloudTM app is an approved medical app for tailored, self-paced management of tinnitus built on clinically proven protocols. The app allows users to become active about their tinnitus, whilst being guided by one of our expert audiologists,” said Liz Fröehlich, Hearing Aid Audiologist at Boots Hearingcare in Galway.

The app contains five steps towards relieving the symptoms of tinnitus:

Getting to know you: After downloading the app, users are invited to assess their tinnitus and its impact on their daily life and screen their hearing abilities. Following this, they can select a Boots Hearingcare store to meet with an audiologist or arrange a digital consultation.

• All about tinnitus: Users will learn all they need to know about tinnitus and tinnitus management to ensure they get the most out of the therapy modules.
• Unlocking your therapies: To get started with their tinnitus self-management, users can subscribe to the app. Here a Boots Hearingcare expert will unlock the therapies for the users after a face-to-face or virtual consultation.
• Internet-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (iCBT): CBT offers a combination of tools to support users in changing their emotional response to their tinnitus. In SilentCloud, CBT is implemented in an app-based format so that users can do the program at home at their own pace. 10 – 20 minutes of active program use per day is encouraged for a duration of 40 days.
• Sound therapy: There are three different types of sound therapies available, including the proprietary Acoustic Neuromodulation, allowing users to tailor their sound therapy to their tinnitus. Users are encouraged to use sound therapy for around six months.

All of the content offered in SilentCloudTM has been studied in numerous clinical trials and showed significant improvement of the tinnitus symptoms:

• iCBT reduced the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) by 34%.3
• Tailored Sound Therapy reduced the THI scores by 27.9%.3
• Tailored Tonal Sound Therapy showed a THI score improvement of 28.8%. 4

For those affected by tinnitus and hearing loss, including a hearing aid into the tinnitus management plan can be the right solution. Giving patients access to more environmental sounds, hearing aids help distract the patient’s attention from the tinnitus. Some hearing aids also include a tinnitus feature that generates a sound to reduce the effects of tinnitus.

App users are accompanied on their journey by a Boots Hearingcare audiologist. SilentCloudTM can be downloaded on the iOS App Store and on Google Play. After a free trial phase, the therapy modules can be unlocked for 14.99 Euros per month.

SilentCloud is currently available in the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, and the Republic of Ireland.

For more information visit www.bootshearingcare.ie/silent-cloud

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