Romantics say Vincent Van Gogh cut off his ear lobe for the love of a woman. Art historians say the self-mutilation came as an act of remorse after he threatened fellow painter Paul Gauguin with a razor in a dispute. Medical detectives, though, blame the incident on a severe bout of tinnitus.

Tinnitus is a condition characterized by a ringing in the ear. Sometimes sufferers hear sounds akin to the rumbling of a train. Oftentimes, it is a high-pitched sound like a siren, or a noise like the ocean, crickets or a buzzing. It's unclear whether a razor-wielding Van Gogh sought to rid himself of tinnitus through home surgery. But such a solution wouldn't sound too far-fetched to people who know first-hand how maddening the condition can be.

In the United States, an estimated 40 million to 50 million people experience some form of tinnitus. For the most, it is not intrusive or particularly bothersome. But for close to 2 million people, it can be severe and affect their daily lives. The constant annoyance and distraction can lead to depression, anxiety, stress and insomnia.

Had Van Gogh actually hacked away at his auditory appendage in the hopes of relieving his tinnitus, Jack Springer said it wouldn't have done much good. Springer is CEO of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania-based Neuromonics, which has developed a device-based therapy for tinnitus. He said tinnitus is not a hearing problem, but a neurological one. It is this understanding that has opened a new approach to treating tinnitus. Existing treatments have focused mainly on masking the problem.

"What they now believe is happening is the auditory cortex in the brain is actually responding to the hearing loss and is actually picking up on the signals in the brain," he said. "The auditory cortex is trying to compensate or pick up sound because it is no longer getting fed like it normally would and it is picking up on this brain activity."

A Customized Device
Neuromonics tinnitus therapy involves a device that is similar to an MP3 player and sells for about $3,000. Patients go through an analysis of their hearing problems and the specifics of their tinnitus at a clinic, which then provides the information to Neuromonics, which customizes its device to the tinnitus of the specific patient. The device plays music that is overlaid with an acoustic signal that can sound a bit like a shower running. The music is relaxing and the device can be used while someone working does other tasks—or even carries on a conversation.

The Neuromonics therapy doesn't repair hearing loss or even cure tinnitus. Instead, it takes advantage of the plasticity of the brain and retrains it to tune out the noise that the auditory cortex focuses on in tinnitus. The therapy, which requires a daily session of two to three hours, takes about six months to complete. During the first two months, the treatment stimulates the auditory cortex in an effort to mask the tinnitus. The second phase works to desensitize the patient to tinnitus. After not being bothered by it for a couple of months, the patient is reintroduced in millisecond doses to the tinnitus and the brain is trained to tune it out.

In effect, the therapy aggressively stimulates those areas of the auditory cortex where there's been hearing loss and reorganizes it so it's no longer highly sensitized to the hearing loss. A recent clinical study found that after six months of using the treatment, 90 percent of patients had at least a 40 percent reduction of their tinnitus disturbance score, a measure used to evaluate how big a disruption the tinnitus has in their lives. The results are considered clinically significant.

VCs Take Notice
Neuromonics, founded in 2001 and backed with venture capital, was started in Australia by a researcher who suffered from tinnitus and sought a means to fix his problem. Though the treatment has been available in Australia since 2005, the company established its headquarters in the United States last year with the belief that it represents the biggest opportunity for the company. The 35-person company maintains research and development facilities in Australia.

About 75 clinics now provide the Neuromonics therapy to patients and Neuromonics' Springer said he expects that to grow to 300 a year from now. With a $10-million venture round completed last year, the company has adequate financing to move forward.

"A lot of patients come in and think we're trying to cure their hearing loss or we are curing the tinnitus," said Teri Sinopoli, director of clinical services for Neuromonics. "What we are doing is seeing it will not become as bothersome and that they can leave their lives with much improved quality of life."