For those of us who understand the persistent gnawing of tinnitus, the hunger for silence is unending. The onset of this ailment is generally disturbing and it will drag anyone into utter despair. Without washing you with another horror story, merely one of which you can find thousands of Online, I want to offer you some hope. I found relief through an application crafted by an artist and programmer known as Headphone James from generalfuzz.net/headphonejames.com, which implements the Acoustic Coordinated Reset (ACR) Neuromodulation protocol—my solace during times of my blaring curse.
The Science Behind the Sound
Headphone James’ application is rooted in significant clinical research, particularly the study titled “Counteracting tinnitus by acoustic coordinated reset neuromodulation” by Peter A. Tass et al. This paper laid the foundation for the ACRN Protocol, which uses a model-based desynchronization technique to specifically counteract tinnitus-related neuronal synchrony, aiming to induce an unlearning of pathological synaptic connectivity.
The App in Action
It’s designed to emit sounds that could help disrupt the troublesome patterns in the brain associated with tinnitus. There have been many nights when the stress was high, I had too much caffeine, my TMJ was flaring up or I had been lacking sleep (like now… or always). I dial in my frequency, which is very high: 14362hz. Then I let the sequence loose! The frequencies used, which is determined by the application based off of the paper, are 11057hz, 12947hz, 15706hz and 20061hz. Now just a short preface, my tinnitus is a high pitched squeal. It sounds like a louder version of that sound that those old disposable cameras make when the flash is recharging. Not only does it sound loud, it feels like it’s physically pushing on my cranium somehow. I feel immediate relief when I press “Play Pattern”. I may be one of the lucky ones, but this has gotten me through some of my darkest hours.
The Man Behind the App
What’s as amazing as the app is the individual behind it—Headphone James. He’s not only a developer but also a musician who generously offers his creations for free under a license, nurturing a community that thrives on sharing and healing. His open-source software is available on his GitHub (https://github.com/headphonejames), demonstrating his commitment to the open-source ethos and his dedication to helping others through his expertise.
My Giving Back
I may decide to fork and improve upon the app if I find the courage to dive into software development a bit. Being part of DevOps and the Infrastructure side of things I decided to deploy a second instance of this free service. I honestly don’t expect generalfuzz.net to stay up forever and I am dependent on this relief for the foreseeable future. I am also going to leave my repositories for deploying a small instance of the app in AWS using Terraform/Ansible using Docker. The alternate version of the application can be found at https://acrn.cele.rocks/.
Final Thoughts
For a time there tinnitus debilitated me. I did what everyone does and scour the Internet looking for hope. Most of the time you will run into forums and subreddits where you are given the opposite. You keep running across the word habituation and you will think “There’s no way in hell I could ever get used to this shit!”. It does get better, and I hope this app will help, even just a little bit. May you find your peace, your quiet, and your relief in this harmonious blend of science, sound, and software.