Tinnitus Sound Therapy You Follow at Home
A therapeutic sound program for adults living with ongoing tinnitus. Your audiologist recommends it, sets it up with you here, and you follow it at home on your phone.
Michigan's Oto Founding Center of Excellence
Bieri Hearing Specialists has been named the 2026 Oto Founding Center of Excellence, chosen from practices across the country. It means our audiologists are trained and supported directly by Oto's clinical team, and that the tinnitus care you get here is the care you would otherwise travel to a major city for.
What Is Oto?
Oto is a program for adults with ongoing tinnitus, delivered through an app on your own phone. It uses therapeutic sound in short daily sessions, with CBT-based techniques alongside, across a structured program of around three months.
There is no device and nothing to wear.
How the Program Works
Dr. Melissa Menzies, Au.D., recommends Oto after a full tinnitus evaluation, so it is set up for your hearing and your tinnitus rather than to a generic setting.
There are three parts to it:
Evaluation and setup
Melissa works through your tinnitus in detail, then sets the program up with you here so you leave knowing how to use it.
Daily sessions at home
Daily sessions at home. Around ten minutes a day, working on the sound itself, on sleep, and on the stress that makes tinnitus harder to live with.
Follow-up appointments
Follow-up appointments. You come back in so Melissa can see how you are getting on and adjust the plan.
Three things to know:
Around 3 months
The length of the structured program.
About 10 minutes
A typical daily session.
Adults 18+
Who Oto is for.
What Does the Research Show?
Oto's daily sessions use therapeutic sound, with CBT-based techniques alongside. That approach is recommended for tinnitus management by NICE, by the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, and by Cochrane.
Oto has been studied in a randomized controlled trial at Flinders University. Ninety-six adults were randomized either to use Oto or to a wait-list control group. At six months, the group using Oto showed a statistically significant improvement on the Tinnitus Functional Index, a validated measure of how much tinnitus is affecting daily life, with a 9-point reduction and an effect size of 0.62.
You can read more about Oto's research at joinoto.com/research.
Is Oto Suitable for You?
Oto is for adults over 18 with ongoing tinnitus, and must be recommended by a trained professional after an evaluation.
Book an evaluation first if your tinnitus started suddenly, is only in one ear, pulses in time with your heartbeat, or comes with hearing loss or dizziness.
How Oto and Lenire Work Together
These are not alternatives and you will not be asked to pick one.
Lenire uses bimodal neuromodulation: you wear headphones and hold a small device against your tongue, and we configure it for you. Oto is the at-home part of the plan, giving you a daily routine between appointments. Most of our Lenire patients use both.
Oto is also used on its own, for patients who are not Lenire candidates on assessment, or who would rather not use a device.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get Oto without an appointment?
No. Oto is set up for you after a tinnitus evaluation and only comes through a clinic. If you would like to use it, book an evaluation with us.
Is Oto a cure for tinnitus?
No. Oto is not a cure for tinnitus, and no such cure currently exists. It is a program for managing tinnitus and living with it more easily, which is a different thing and an achievable one.
What if I already wear hearing aids?
Your aids restore the sound you have been missing and can mask tinnitus during the day. Oto gives you sound you control from your phone, including at night when your aids are out. If you want to see how the at-home plan is put together, Oto's own site explains it.
Book a Tinnitus Evaluation
Melissa sees tinnitus patients in Midland and Clare, and we have offices in Saginaw, Frankenmuth, Midland and Bay City. Call 1-800-329-1747 or book an appointment online.
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