Why we never ask how loud it is

Most tinnitus diaries and trackers ask some version of the same question every day: how loud is it today? Rate it 1 to 10. Compare it to yesterday.

We think that question causes harm, so this app is built on one rule: we will never ask it.

The problem with rating the sound

Rating the sound is checking — the exact behavior that keeps tinnitus promoted in your brain's priority list. A daily loudness diary turns the checking habit into an appointment. You sit down, summon the sound, examine it closely, assign it a score, and file a record you'll compare against tomorrow. It's the loop from lesson one, formalized.

People who have recovered say this in almost the same words, again and again: keeping a loudness log made them focus on it more, and things improved when they refused to measure the sound at all.

What we ask instead

Your evening check-in never mentions the sound. It asks about your day: did anything get in the way of sleep, focus, your mood? Did you skip something?

That's a different kind of attention. You're not examining the tinnitus — you're auditing your life, the way you might review any day. The sound isn't the subject; your time is.

The number this produces can actually go somewhere. Sound ratings wobble forever. Time taken from your day trends down as the reaction softens — and watching that number supports the process instead of feeding the loop.

Content is for education only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. See a doctor promptly if your tinnitus is new, in one ear only, pulsing, or accompanied by hearing loss, dizziness, or pain.