Mutebutton can train your brain to ignore tinnitus By Roger Dobson for the Daily Mail Published: 22:53 GMT, 18 May 2015 | Updated: 23:02 GMT, 18 May 2015 A new device that stimulates the tongue may be a new way to tackle tinnitus. Known as the Mutebutton, the device is used for just 30 minutes a day and is designed to help the brain turn down the volume of phantom noise of the condition.The system includes headphones and a lollipop-like device that sits on your tongue and stimulates it in time with a relaxing mixture of music and nature sounds, which is played through earphones connected to a signal generator the size of a mobile phone. Clinical trial results suggest it can reduce tinnitus loudness by an average of about 40 per cent.Tinnitus is the perception of sound in the ear, usually a ringing noise, although it can be a high-pitched whistling or buzzing, ringing, or hissing.It's estimated that 7 per cent of men and women will visit their GP about it at some point. For one in 100, quality of life is severely affected, and it has been linked to depression, work and relationship problems and, in rare cases, suicide.It's not known what causes it, although in some cases it is linked to hearing loss - one theory is that when some sounds can no longer be heard, the brain overcompensates and creates phantom noise.There is no cure, although treatments such as maskers (ear-plugs that generate white noise to try to block out tinnitus noise), antidepressants, and cognitive behavioural therapy, which aims to help patients to ignore or think differently about their tinnitus, can help.However, the Mutebutton is designed to gradually re-train the brain (via the nerves in the tongue) in order to reduce the loudness of tinnitus. The stimulator is held between the lips and creates a mild current to stimulate nerves in sync with the sound played through the earphones. Each device is configured to the patient according to hearing tests with an audiologist.The idea is that the brain gradually begins to play down the illusory sounds of tinnitus, which is not related to the stimulation being felt on the tongue and the real sound being played into the headphones. In a trial at the National University of Ireland, the system was tested on 60 people who'd had tinnitus for longer than six months.The patients used the device for 30 minutes a day for ten weeks in the comfort of their own home or another relaxing environment of their choice.Tinnitus volume reduced by 42 per cent on average. The Mutebutton is likely to be available in the UK later this year.Louise Hart, senior audiologist at charity Action On Hearing Loss, says: 'We welcome all new research, as the mechanisms behind this debilitating condition are still not fully understood and more progress is needed to improve the chances of effective treatments in the future.'More evidence is needed on the effectiveness of this device before it can offer real hope to the millions of tinnitus sufferers across the UK.'Meanwhile, researchers have now identified the areas of the brain thought to be involved in tinnitus - with the hope that this new understanding could trigger new treatments.Scientists at Newcastle University and the University of Iowa, in the U.S., have shown that more areas of the brain are involved in tinnitus than just the sound centre - the auditory cortex - which was previously thought to be responsible.Using electrical implants to record the brain activity of a 50-year-old man, they mapped the areas which lit up during times of loud and quiet tinnitus. Their findings might explain why the condition can be difficult to treat, as current therapies typically focus on the auditory cortex.