28 April 2022
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
Suffering from a ringing in your ears in Cork? Clinically proven Lenire tinnitus treatment device now available with Dr Deepak Kumar, The Audiology Clinic, MPHC, Mallow, Co Cork
The Audiology Clinic in MPHC, Mallow has become the first audiology practice in Co. Cork to provide the clinically proven Lenire tinnitus treatment device to local people living with the condition, commonly known as ‘ringing in the ears’.
Dr Deepak Kumar, Doctor of Audiology at Mallow Primary Healthcare Centre, has partnered with Irish medical device company, Neuromod Devices Ltd, to provide Lenire – the first commercially available non-invasive bimodal neuromodulation device proven in a large-scale clinical trial to soothe and relieve tinnitus.
Lenire works by delivering mild electrical pulses to the tongue, through an intra-oral component called the ‘Tonguetip’, combined with sound played through headphones to drive long-term changes or neuroplasticity in the brain to treat tinnitus.
Dr Deepak Kumar, Doctor of Audiology and owner of the Audiology Clinic
Lenire has been used in large-scale clinical trials, the largest of which involved 326 participants and demonstrated improvements in patients’ tinnitus symptoms. 86.2% of treatment-compliant participants reported an improvement in their tinnitus symptoms after a 12-week treatment period. When followed up 12 months post treatment, 80.1% of these participants had sustained improvements. This study represents one of the largest and longest followed-up clinical trial ever conducted in the tinnitus field and was the cover story for the scientific journal Science Translational Medicine’s in October 2020.
Neuromod specialises in non-invasive neuromodulation technologies and has designed and developed Lenire, which it has been treating patients with since 2019.
Tinnitus affects between 10 and 15% of the global population and could affect up to 500,000 people in Ireland. A recent study of GPs in Ireland found that 63% do not follow routine criteria for onward referral and that GPs felt the need for clearer guidance on tinnitus management and better access to resources, including audiology.
Speaking on the partnership, Dr Deepak Kumar, Doctor of Audiology and owner of the Audiology Clinic said: “The efficacy of Lenire in clinical trials is really impressive and I have been following the progress of this technology and its application to treating tinnitus for a number of years. For people living with tinnitus, finding an effective treatment for this condition is difficult and can be a source of stress for patients. Recently, with tinnitus being a common symptom of long COVID, the demand for an effective tinnitus treatment has increased so I am happy to be able to provide the innovative Lenire device to my patients”.
Deepak has special interest in tinnitus and Dizziness/Vertigo. He also provides assessment and management of people suffering with dizziness/Vertigo. The Audiology Clinic is the first clinic to offer the Lenire device in Cork, with the device previously being only available directly from Neuromod’s wholly owned clinic, Ótologie, in Dublin.
Dr. Ross O’Neill, CEO and Founder of Neuromod said: “We’re delighted to have Dr Kumar on board as the first external Lenire partner clinic in Ireland. Deepak has an excellent reputation in the field of audiology and the success of the Audiology Clinic, with three branches in Ireland, is a testament to this.”
“At Neuromod, our goal with Lenire is to improve the quality of life of those suffering from tinnitus and this is what motivates us to bring this treatment to as many people as we can. While we have been providing Lenire to people with tinnitus in Ireland through our own clinic, online and in-person, it’s always important to make it available to patients through their own local audiologists so we are excited to be partnering with the Audiology Clinic.”
Lenire is prescribed and fitted under the supervision of a qualified healthcare professional who specialises in the field of tinnitus treatment such as audiologists and Consultant Otolaryngologists or ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) surgeons.
How patients can access this treatment
People suffering with bothersome tinnitus can book an appointment with the Audiology Clinic in MPHC, Mallow, Co. Cork by visiting www.audiologyclinic.
The Lenire tinnitus treatment device is also available to people with tinnitus in Cork from the comfort of their own homes through Ótologie Tinnitus Care, a specialist tinnitus service based in Dublin, which provides tinnitus assessments and treatment plans via its telehealth service. Ótologie is wholly owned by Neuromod and patients can book their appointments at www.otologie.com.
Neuromod has been advancing the commercialisation of Lenire across Europe having opened its German office in Forchheim, Bavaria in 2020. Since then, the company has also made Lenire available in clinics in Austria, Belgium, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
The company, which raised €10.5 million in an oversubscribed Series B financing round in late in 2020, has been scaling manufacturing of the Lenire device to meet demand in Europe and fund its FDA (Food and Drug Administration) submission process in the USA. In mid-2021, Neuromod established its US subsidiary, Neuromod USA Inc.
This funding has been led by Fountain Healthcare Partners, an international life science focussed venture capital fund which invests in entrepreneurs and companies with disruptive technologies or products that have a clear pharmacoeconomic benefit.