75-Year-Old Man Battles Worsening Tinnitus That Ruins Sleep

Seventy-five-year-old Jim Gray thought his refrigerator had finally quit working properly. The humming was loud at first, but it persisted even when he stepped outside. It happened during the pandemic when he stayed home most of the time. When he eventually walked out into the fresh air, the sound followed him. He told a friend how annoying his fridge was and did not suspect anything more serious. Then the noise grew louder with every passing day. A doctor confirmed it was tinnitus.

The ringing and buzzing in his ears got progressively worse over five years. It wrecked his sleep. Jim would wake up feeling groggy because he could not get to sleep. The condition also hurt his mental health badly. He had worked hard all his life and looked forward to the future, but every year the noise increased by 25 percent. He thought that day would come when it stopped or become catastrophic.

Jim tried a ridiculous diet that cut out all sugar. He tried acupuncture as well. Nothing offered long-term relief. No one had an answer for him. He read tons of books and did loads of research, yet there just did not seem to be a solution available. That changed until he found what he called his last shot: an innovative new device called Lenire.

For half an hour twice a day, Jim would wear a headset coupled with a vibrating gadget held in his mouth. It seemed bizarre at first, but he almost immediately saw an impact. The change was really dramatic. Within three days the noise he heard had reduced significantly. He admits to being quite a pessimistic person because many things do not work as advertised. This one was remarkable. After three months of using the device, his tinnitus has almost completely gone. It only flares up on particularly stressful days now. The only thing he wishes is that he had gotten the device sooner.

Jim is just one of 750 million people globally who suffer from this condition. Around 25 million in the US are affected too. Tinnitus causes ringing, buzzing, hissing, or roaring sounds in one or both ears. Triggers include ear infections, earwax build-up, or Meniere's disease. This is a chronic inner-ear disorder that can also trigger vertigo. In these cases, treating the cause often provides relief for patients.

But for many people like Jim, the condition is long-term and difficult to tackle. It has a significant impact on daily life. Persistent tinnitus is often linked to age-related hearing loss or noise damage caused by machinery, headphones, or loud music. Current treatments focus on helping patients better cope with the symptoms rather than curing them. Talking therapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness can help sufferers manage the distress caused by tinnitus. Sound-masking devices use white noise or background sounds to make the ringing less noticeable. The Lenire device is being touted as a long-term solution for this group of people who are tormented by the sound.

Headphones play soothing noises while a vibrating gadget stimulates the trigeminal nerves via the tongue. These major nerves run through the head. Experts say this dual stimulus helps retrain the brain to ignore the internal sounds of tinnitus. Patients need two 30-minute sessions each day for about 12 weeks. They can continue using it indefinitely after that period.

A treatment package with a Lenire device costs around $4,000 in the US. Most standard insurers or Medicare will not cover these expenses. A 2022 clinical trial found that 90 percent of the 450 participants reported a reduction in symptoms over six weeks. Researchers confirmed those results stayed strong during the year following the study.

Alison Moore, 62, began experiencing a loud, sharp ringing in her ears one day after swimming. Doctors initially told her she had an ear infection. Dr Ross O'Neill is the founder and inventor of Lenire. He explains the logic behind their approach. 'We hypothesized that if we could pair sounds similar in pitch and frequency to tinnitus noise that patients are experiencing with nerve stimulation, through the tongue tip, we might be able to rewire the brain to dampen the condition,' he says. The trigeminal nerve connects with the hearing centers of the brain. This connection suggests it may help influence how tinnitus is processed in the mind.

'Dr O'Neill notes that essentially what we are doing is subconsciously grabbing the brain's attention away from the tinnitus.' He adds, 'It's not a cure but it's a treatment that reduces significant symptoms.' The device has exceeded expectations since rolling out. What really surprised him was how much better effects appeared in real life compared to controlled trials. A real-world study published earlier this year in the American Journal of Audiology examined 140 tinnitus sufferers treated with the device. More than 80 percent saw a significant improvement in symptoms after 12 weeks.

A 2025 study looked at 212 people seeking help for moderate to severe tinnitus at an audiology clinic in Alaska. Ninety-one point five percent reported a significant improvement after using Lenire. At the start, around half of participants had severe to catastrophic tinnitus. That proportion fell to just 11 percent after treatment. Among others starting with moderate symptoms, rates dropped to 22 percent. By the end of the 12-week study, 66 percent rated their tinnitus as mild or slight.

Dr O'Neill believes additional benefits in real life come from clinic support and structured counselling that runs alongside the treatment. Patients can use the device for a longer period in a personalized way too. He says patients fall into three camps. Some are one-and-dones who use it for the prescribed length between 12 to 52 weeks, which matches what research looked at. Others top up when they hear tinnitus coming back. A third group uses it permanently. Real-world studies also found that patients with the most severe tinnitus had the biggest benefit from the device.

Audiologists say clinics have seen this phenomenon often. Jordon Thompson is an audiologist at Harley Street Hearing and Musicians Services in London. He has used the device with patients for around 18 months now. In his experience, it can be effective for all sub-types of tinnitus. It works generally better for patients with a moderate to severe form of the condition. Clinics take this into consideration when assessing a patient for the device. Experts suggest there is a psychological reason why the device works better in this group. Dr James Jackson is a psychologist and tinnitus expert at Leeds Trinity University. He states there is logic to Lenire appearing more effective in people with more severe tinnitus.

These patients are often most distressed and desperate for something real and tangible to engage with." This is a group of patients who are also less likely to respond to traditional interventions like cognitive behavioral therapy or mindfulness, so a technological intervention that works on them passively can be helpful. Experts say the device is not suitable for all patients, and that it is important to see an audiologist when considering Lenire. "Firstly, a patient will be ruled out from being able to use the device if they have implants, like a pacemaker or a cochlear," says Mr Thompson. If patients have oral infections, head and neck pain or a condition that causes them to faint, then we need to do further medical assessment to see if the device will be safe. It is also about using a holistic approach to assess what is the best option for the patient, based on their goals, previous treatment and level of tinnitus.

Tinnitus cases have shot up by 50 percent in the past two decades, research suggests. Mr Thompson says that one of the most remarkable cases he has seen in his clinic using the device involved 62-year-old Alison Moore. She said she began experiencing a loud, sharp ringing in her ears one day after swimming. "I remember the day – June 15 last year – exactly," says Alison. "It came on so suddenly and I expected it to go away, but it persisted, so after a few days I went to [a doctor]." Initially she was told she had an ear infection and that it would clear in a few days, but after a referral to an audiologist she was diagnosed with tinnitus. "What is scary is that you can't control it – it's a torture in your head that no one else can hear," says Alison. "Then you worry, which makes it worse and worse."

Three months after her diagnosis, her tinnitus was becoming unbearable, causing sleepless nights which she feared was going to affect her job as a teacher. That's when – after some frantic googling – she discovered Lenire. She used the device for four months, twice a day, and has noticed a marked difference in her condition. "From the get-go it felt like I was taking back control of the condition," says Alison. "It is like the device has trained your brain to block out the sounds of tinnitus." After the initial four months with the device, she says she did have a slight relapse but that the sound is nowhere near as loud as before her treatment. "I still have it now, but the difference is really noticeable," she said. "The noise is quieter. Most of the time it is negligible and only really noticeable if I stop in a quiet room and listen to it."

The growing curse of noises in your head. Tinnitus cases have shot up by 50 percent in the past two decades, research suggests, with experts blaming modern lifestyles. In one study last year, a third of audiologists reported a rise in cases of tinnitus compared to the previous 12 months. And many of them said that more patients were opening discussions about the condition, according to the British and Irish Hearing Instrument Manufacturers Association. One audiologist in the report highlighted the increasing rates of tinnitus in younger generations, saying: "I am seeing more cases of tinnitus in under 50s, mainly due to the use of headphones or music earbuds." Experts suggest that headphones become a risk when listening at around 65 percent of full volume, which is roughly 80 decibels. However, others believe it is not just increasing exposure to loud music that is behind the rise in cases. Nic Wray, a researcher at the charity Tinnitus UK, puts the increase down to "an ageing population, the lingering effects of Covid and long Covid, heightened stress and anxiety in daily life" as well as increased headphone usage.