Using Virtual Reality as a Tool to Treat Tinnitus

Imagine living with a sound no one else can hear — a constant ringing, buzzing or humming that never lets up. For children with tinnitus, silence can be deafening. Now imagine stepping into a space where you learn to change negative thoughts associated with tinnitus to thoughts that improve your feelings and actions, helping you feel more calm, comfortable and present. That’s the power of virtual reality. And that’s what excites Kenny Chan, MD, pediatric otolaryngologist and emeritus professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

Dr. Chan has studied tinnitus for more than two decades, and in June he received the American Tinnitus Association’s (ATA) Innovative Research Grant Award. He’ll use the grant to test whether virtual reality could become a powerful tool for children with tinnitus to lessen symptoms of depression and anxiety.

“There’s so little that’s known about tinnitus and so little that you can do,” Dr. Chan says.

Dr. Chan was first inspired to use virtual reality (VR) as a therapeutic tool in 2023. At a medical conference, he wandered into an exhibit where participants, wearing oversized goggles, were batting virtual objects in the air.

“What is your company selling?” Dr. Chan asked.

“Our company is the first company to be approved by the FDA to use immersive virtual reality to treat lower back pain,” the sales representative replied.

The tool uses pain management and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques to help patients reduce pain and improve function. That's when it clicked for Dr. Chan.

“If there’s a noninvasive way of treating mental health symptoms with VR in the comfort of one’s home, that may be applicable to tinnitus,” Dr. Chan says.

After consulting with colleagues nationwide, Dr. Chan partnered with Invincikids, a nonprofit made up of Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford pediatric anesthesiologists developing clinical immersive technology to soothe patients. With a Children’s Hospital Colorado Association of Volunteers grant, Dr. Chan bought six VR goggles. And in late 2024, the group launched a pilot study to see if a mindfulness app designed by Invincikids could change kids’ mental health scores. The pilot study exposed participants to a 10-minute app, five to seven days a week for four weeks.

The two-year ATA grant will take Dr. Chan’s pilot study a step further. Instead of using a general mindfulness app developed by Invincikids, a group at Children’s Colorado and the University of Colorado School of Medicine is developing an app specifically for kids with tinnitus. This team includes ear, nose and throat (ENT) surgeons, audiologists, clinical psychologists and a VR developer. Similarly, the group hopes to develop a 10-minute app. Participants will be exposed to the new app for a longer time, somewhere between six to eight weeks. During VR exposure, researchers will measure anxiety and depression symptom scores to see if VR can positively affect them.

While the VR application has not been developed yet, the team is exploring different scenarios and tools to put in the 10-minute module. This includes relaxation and breathing exercises, CBT and general tinnitus education.

“The idea is to get CBT-infused scenarios into VR scenarios,” Dr. Chan says. “Hopefully in four to six months, we’ll have a prototype application.”

Dr. Chan emphasizes that there is no good treatment or cure for tinnitus. Right now, the focus is on management strategies. And he’s thinking VR could offer a promising approach.

“When you put it all together,” Dr. Chan says, “if we can show that immersive VR does something for anxiety and depression symptoms, we may find a new, innovative way to managing tinnitus.”