About Us
Tinnitus is defined as an auditory perception in the absence of any physical source. Almost everyone will experience some form of tinnitus at least once in the lifetime and in most of the cases this sensation disappears within seconds or minutes. However, in approximately 10% of the population the tinnitus persists for more than six months and can remain chronic for the rest of the life.
Even in the chronic case, the perception of the tinnitus can vary during the day and between days being sometimes more and sometimes less perceivable. The variation can depend on many factors including environmental noise, the daily activity, stressful life events, time of the day and much more. Many people have a good feeling of their tinnitus variation and can reconstruct it from memory to some extent - but how was the timeline of the variation exactly? Until recently it was not possible to systematically track the tinnitus perception over several weeks.
With this research project we want to offer a method to track the individual tinnitus perception with a smart phone application. Using the website in conjunction with your phone you can systematically track the variation of your tinnitus and find out how it is associated with your daily routine and activities. Your answers will also help us learn to more about the daily variation of the tinnitus perception, its causes and effects.
TrackYourTinnitus cannot be used to treat tinnitus
We would like to emphasize here that TrackYourTinnitus is not a medical device. TrackYourTinnitus is a good tool to measure your tinnitus and to find out under which circumstances it goes up or down. Therefore the app can be used to improve the diagnosis, but not to treat the tinnitus.
A worsening of the tinnitus cannot be expected. However, if you feel that your tinnitus is worsening, we want you to stop using TrackYourTinnitus immediately and please get in contact with your medical doctor or therapist.
About the Team
TrackYourTinnitus was developed by the Tinnitus Research Initiative (TRI) and the Institute for Databases and Information Systems (DBIS) at the University of Ulm. The team members are:
Dr. Winfried Schlee (Tinnitus Research Initiative)
Susanne Staudinger (Tinnitus Research Initiative)
PD Dr. Berthold Langguth (Tinnitus Research Initiative)
PD Dr. Michael Landgrebe (Tinnitus Research Initiative)
Jochen Herrmann (DBIS, University of Ulm)
Rüdiger Pryss (DBIS, University of Ulm)
Lukas Stöferle (DBIS, University of Ulm)
Prof. Dr. Manfred Reichert (DBIS, University of Ulm)
Christian Kippes (independent)
If you have questions, feedback or suggestions please don't hesitate to contact us under info@trackyourtinnitus.org.