A new tinnitus treatment is now available at hearing clinics in Arizona, giving people who live with constant ringing in the ears a drug-free option that works on the brain rather than just masking the sound. FOX 10 Phoenix reported on 8 November that the treatment is now offered at Arizona hearing clinics, including the Tinnitus and Hearing Center of Arizona in Tempe and Arizona Hearing Specialists, which has certified its audiologists to administer it after an intensive training programme. The device is called Lenire, and it is the clinics’ newest tinnitus treatment.
Tinnitus is the perception of sound when no external sound is present, most often a ringing, buzzing or hissing in the ears. It affects millions of Americans, and for many it is more than an annoyance: it can disturb sleep, make it hard to concentrate and add to anxiety. Until recently, the main options were hearing aids, sound masking and counselling, none of which was designed to change how the brain processes the phantom sound.
This tinnitus treatment works differently. It delivers bimodal neuromodulation, a treatment that pairs two kinds of stimulation at the same time: sound played through a pair of Bluetooth headphones, and mild electrical pulses delivered to the surface of the tongue through a small device called the Tonguetip. The patient uses the system at home, with a hand-held controller, as part of a programme overseen by a trained tinnitus professional.
The idea behind this tinnitus treatment is to retrain the brain’s response to the phantom sound. The sound stimulation activates the auditory nerve, while the tongue stimulation activates a second pathway, and the paired signals are meant to drive the brain to pay less attention to the tinnitus over time. Lenire was made by Neuromod Devices, an Irish company, and it is the first device of its kind to be authorised by the US Food and Drug Administration to treat tinnitus, under a De Novo authorisation granted in March 2023.
Tinnitus treatment and how Lenire works
The evidence behind this tinnitus treatment comes from large clinical trials run for the FDA authorisation, and from clinics using it since. In the trials, 83 percent of patients recommended Lenire for the treatment of tinnitus, according to the Tempe clinic. A retrospective chart review published in April 2025 looked at 220 patients treated at the Alaska Hearing and Tinnitus Center, the first real-world assessment of Lenire from a clinic in the United States, and found a responder rate of 91.5 percent, with a mean improvement of 27.8 points on the tinnitus measure used and no device-related serious adverse events.
The Tempe clinic was one of the first 15 clinics selected by Neuromod to offer Lenire in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Its audiologists, Allen and Amy Rohe, run a tinnitus programme that has treated more than 35,000 patients since 2002, according to the clinic, and The tinnitus treatment is delivered as part of a wider programme of assessment and counselling rather than as a device handed over on its own. Arizona Hearing Specialists offers the same approach, with a tinnitus management clinic headed by Dr. Adriana Sanchez.
Tinnitus treatment and who it suits
This tinnitus treatment is not for everyone. It is authorised for adults with at least moderate tinnitus, and it is not used with a pacemaker or other implanted device, with epilepsy, during pregnancy, or with active sores in the mouth. People with mild tinnitus are generally not candidates, and the device is usually not covered by insurance, so cost is a real question for patients to ask about before they start.
Patients also need to know that this tinnitus treatment takes time. The minimum protocol is 12 weeks of daily at-home use, and the structured programme can run for six months, with regular follow-up visits to adjust the sound settings. The device is fitted by a tinnitus specialist, not a general hearing clinic, and every provider must already be a tinnitus professional who has completed extra training to offer it.
For people in Arizona who have tried masking and hearing aids without relief, the arrival of Lenire at local clinics means the treatment no longer requires travel or a long wait. The clinics say assessments are available now, and patients can book an evaluation to find out whether they are a candidate. The device does not promise a cure, and the clinics describe it as a way to reduce the severity of tinnitus, not to erase it, but for people whose ringing never stops, that reduction is the point.