FAQ

Welcome to our Frequently Asked Questions page. You will find a list of questions with text responses and video response at the bottom of the page.

AudioCardio is an evidence-based mobile app that assesses your hearing and generates a personalized sound therapy (inaudible) designed to improve your hearing and relieve the symptoms of tinnitus. The sound therapy is delivered using headphones/earbuds/hearing aids, is completely passive and runs in the background while you do other activities.

Our technology has been clinically tested and was evaluated with an evidence level of 1a, the highest level of CEBM (Centre for Evidence-based Medicine) classification by the University of Oxford.

Our mission is to deliver an easily accessible and affordable hearing loss and tinnitus treatment without the negative social stigma while helping educate and raise awareness around hearing health and the secondary physical and mental health issues.

Threshold Sound Conditioning allows you to check your hearing and create a personalized sound therapy that stimulates the cells at the just inaudible level.

Threshold Sound Conditioning stimulates the cells inside the ear in hopes of helping them connect to nearby cells to form pathways. These cells help send sound signals through the auditory pathway until they reach the part of the brain where this stimulation is interpreted as meaningful sound.

After doing this consistently, these pathways become easier to find and take so that these types of stimulation reach their destination to get processed as sound.

Yes, there have been multiple clinical studies and they were conducted at or with the following institutions: Stanford University, Palo Alto Medical Foundation (Sutter Health), Samsung Medical Center, Chung-Ang University, and Nanjing University.

AudioCardio’s technology has been clinically studied at various research institutions for its effect on sensorineural hearing loss, which includes age-related and noise-induced hearing loss. More than 70% of study participants had a significant change of 10 decibels or more in their hearing after using it daily for an hour a day for three weeks.

AudioCardio also conducted a clinical survey with third-party audiologists and speech-language pathologists from the Sound Speech & Hearing Clinic in San Francisco, comprised of 40 individuals using AudioCardio. 84% of tinnitus patients surveyed had a reduction in the severity or frequency of their tinnitus.

Hearing loss isn’t just an inconvenience. Untreated hearing loss has been closely associated with secondary physical and mental health issues ranging from an increased risk of falling to dementia. AudioCardio™ is an easily accessible and affordable sound therapy that aims to protect and strengthen your hearing and reduce tinnitus, anytime, anywhere.

  1. The Pro+ subscription allows you to target 8 frequency ranges, while the Basic subscription allows you to target only 5.
  2. The Pro+ subscription targets 2 frequencies simultaneously per ear giving you better results faster, while the Basic subscription only targets 1 frequency per ear. 
  3. The Pro+ subscription includes the following 6 programs: Pro+, Frequency Targeting, High Frequencies, Mid-High Frequencies, Low-Mid Frequencies, and Low Frequencies. Learn more about the programs here.
  4. The Basic subscription only consists of 1 program (Basic program). This program targets each ear’s weakest frequency band.
  • AudioCardio targets multiple frequency bands (range of frequencies) that are important for understanding speech and the world around you. We’ve listed the frequency bands below:

 

  • 1,000 Hz
    • 906 Hz ~ 1,078 Hz
  • 1,500 Hz (Pro+ Only)
    • 1,357 ~ 1,614 Hz
  • 2,000 Hz
    • 1,812 Hz ~ 2,154 Hz
  • 3,000 Hz (Pro+ Only)
    • 2,714 ~ 3,228 Hz
  • 4,000 Hz
    • 3,623 Hz ~ 4,309 Hz
  • 6,000 Hz (Pro+ Only)
    • 5,429 ~ 6,426
  • 8,000 Hz 
    • 7,246 Hz ~ 8,617
  • 12,000 Hz
    • 10,857 ~ 12,912 Hz

Use AudioCardio™ daily for one hour for best results. You can split this into two 30 minute sessions if you would like. You can think of it like exercise. One hour per day is best, but some daily exercise is better than none.

When first starting the app, we recommend using the app daily for a minimum of thirty days for the frequency range you are targeting or the program that you are using.

We liken using AudioCardio to physical exercise, it should be incorporated into your daily life as a positive healthy lifestyle choice. Just as physical exercise can be used to strengthen and maintain your muscles, AudioCardio was designed to strengthen and maintain your hearing. We can’t recommend an amount of time for how long someone should use the app, as everyone’s goals and biology are different from one another. However, many of our strongest users have incorporated it into their daily life. In fact, we have many individuals who use it regularly and after a year of usage, they are still making progress.

We recommend using AudioCardio for one hour per day as that is the length of time necessary to have significant effects on hearing during our clinical studies.

If you select “Yes,” it will move and lock your device’s volume to 40%. If you select “No,” it will move and lock your device’s volume to 60%. The app will automatically set your device’s volume for you during the hearing assessment and sound therapy session.

Individuals who have strong hearing and can hear the sounds will select “Yes” and individuals with weaker hearing that cannot hear the sounds will select “No.” The sound therapy is still effective at both volume settings and we recommend selecting the same setting each time to better track your progress.

AudioCardio measures your threshold of sound (minimum audible level) based on the devices being used (earbuds / headphones / hearing aids) to deliver a personalized sound therapy and sound experience. The hearing assessment allows our solution to generate personalized sound therapies for you.

  • Connect your earbuds, headphones, or hearing aids to your smartphone or tablet.
  • Go to a very quiet room away from windows and electronics that may emit ambient noise, like refrigerators and other appliances.
  • On the hearing assessment screen, slide the lever up until you can hear the tone being played clearly and then down just past the point where you can last hear the sound.
  • Set it at the “just inaudible” level (1-3 dBr below the last audible level) and press next at the bottom of the screen.
  • You will do this 5 times (Basic) for each ear (less than 2 minutes)
  • You will do this 8 times (Pro +) for each ear (less than 3 minutes)

Barely audible means that you are just at the point where the sound will completely disappear if you were to lower it by one more dBr. This is where you want to set each volume slider during the hearing assessment. If you start your sound therapy and can hear it while it is activated, retake your assessment and set the volume slider just below the barely audible level by one or two dBr levels.

The hardware volume must be set at the “Auto-Set” volume level. Changing the device’s volume during the hearing assessment will make the sound therapy ineffective. Please set the slider to the maximum level if you cannot hear any sound for a particular frequency range without changing the device’s volume.

Retake your hearing assessment anytime you can hear your sound therapy, a minimum of once a week, and anytime you change any one of your devices (smartphone, tablet, earbuds, headphones, hearing aids).

Your sound therapy should always be at the just inaudible level. The just inaudible level is 1-3 dBr below the last audible level.

Remember to always do your hearing assessments in a quiet room away from ambient noise to ensure your sound therapy is set correctly.

The hearing score is calculated after each assessment. Each dBr level has a value and the lower each dBr value is for each frequency range, the higher your hearing score.

The hearing score that you see in the progress section of the app represents great to below average hearing. A higher score represents better hearing on a scale from 0 to 100. A high dBr value of 75 dBr would generate a lower score than if you were to hear sounds at 25 dBr since a lower dBr value means better hearing.

The goal is to help you hear the tones during the hearing assessment at lower dBr levels than before. When this occurs, it will be reflected by an increase in your hearing score.

Compare your baseline score (first score) to your most recent score to measure your progress as you go.

  • The blue dot indicates a day you did at least 30 mins of your sound therapy session.
  • The green dot indicates a day you did a full hearing assessment and received an updated hearing score. If you did a sound therapy session and a hearing assessment, the dot will display as green.
  • The orange dot indicates the current day.

The AudioCardio app records your scores on the sound therapy progress screen. Your first assessment is your baseline score. Compare your first score to subsequent scores to see your progress. You can also see the details of each assessment and compare them to previous assessment levels for each frequency range.

If your hearing score doesn’t change after using the AudioCardio app for three to four weeks, you should use the frequency targeting feature located in the top left corner of the start sound therapy screen to select a different frequency to target. You can see which frequencies you were previously targeting on the sound therapy progress screen by clicking the details of the last assessment. Select a different range from the one that you had been focusing on for the last three to four weeks.

 

Your sound therapy should not be audible while it is activated. The sound therapy plays right below the audible volume level. Your hearing assessment is what calibrates this sound therapy. If you can hear your sound therapy, retake your assessment and find the very lowest volume level that you can hear the tones being played in the assessment. Set the slider there or one to two dBr lower.

This means your hearing is changing. This is because the once inaudible sound therapy has become audible. Great job! Retake your assessment to adjust for your progress and get your next personalized sound therapy.

The AudioCardio app may still work for you if you have tinnitus. However, you must be able to distinguish the tones being played in the assessment from the sound of your tinnitus.

The AudioCardio sound therapy works by playing personalized sound therapies at the “just inaudible” level for the frequency range that is being targeted. This personalized sound therapy is calibrated by finding the barely audible volume for each tone being played in the assessment.

You may use AudioCardio if you have tinnitus. However, tinnitus affects everyone differently. Make sure the sound therapy is comfortable for your unique condition.

If you sense that you are feeling any discomfort, please discontinue use.

Yes, headphones or earbuds are required while doing the assessment and while you receive your sound therapy. Be sure to use the EXACT SAME headphones for both the assessment and sound therapy.

Almost any set is compatible as long as you use the same earbuds or headphones for your assessment and your sound therapy. Be sure to reassess your hearing any time you can hear your sound therapy or change your hardware (earbuds, headphones, phone, tablet).

Yes, you can use Bluetooth or wired headphones or earbuds with the AudioCardio app.

Yes, you may use AudioCardio with your hearing aids. However, always be sure that you use the EXACT SAME settings for your hearing assessments and sound therapy. If you decide to switch to headphones or earbuds, you’ll need to retake the hearing assessment again so that the app can calibrate your sound therapy based on those earbuds or headphones.

You must also make sure that anytime your hearing aids are being used with AudioCardio, that “Mono Audio” is turned off in your phone’s settings. Please follow the steps below for most phone manufacturers.

  1. Go to phone’s settings and find the “Accessibility” settings.
  2. Look for “Audio & Visual” settings and select it.
  3. Turn off “Mono Audio”.

You can listen to media from other apps while the AudioCardio sound therapy is activated. Simply start the sound therapy in the AudioCardio app and then open your desired music streaming, podcast, or audiobook app. From there, you can play your favorite song, podcast, or audiobook. The sound therapy will play in the background simultaneously.

Yes, you may use the AudioCardio app while using other apps. Go to the AudioCardio app and activate your sound therapy. Then go to the desired app and use it as you normally would. The AudioCardio sound therapy will still play in the background while you use another app. There are some instances where other apps may limit this ability, however, you will be alerted by a voice or push notification if you have them enabled within the AudioCardio app. The AudioCardio sound therapy does not work if you make or receive a voice or video call on the device running the AudioCardio app.

Yes, you can change the volume of your music slightly, but within a certain range. AudioCardio has created alerts if the volume is changed outside of this range. The sound therapy must be at the just inaudible level so changing it too much will render the sound therapy ineffective.

Unfortunately, music streaming apps like Spotify and Apple Music do not allow for independent control of the volume of the AudioCardio sound therapy and media volume at the same time.

Yes, many people activate the AudioCardio sound therapy as part of their nightly routine. The AudioCardio sound therapy automatically turns off after 60 minutes of use and is inaudible, so it will not disrupt your sleep. Remember to turn off voice notifications in the settings section of the AudioCardio app so that it does not interrupt your sleep. You can do so by tapping the gear icon (settings) in the bottom right corner of the app, select notifications, and then toggle off the voice notifications.

The volume of the voice notification cannot be adjusted, however it can be turned off within the AudioCardio app. Follow the steps below to turn off voice notifications. 

  1. Open the AudioCardio app
  2. Select the settings icon in the bottom right hand corner of the app (it looks like a gear)
  3. Select notifications on the following screen (indicated by a bell icon)
  4. On the next screen, toggle the voice notification from on to off (it is the second option on the screen)
  5. The off state is in gray

Subscribers who signed up via Website:

  1. Log into your web account with your credentials at this URL, https://app.audiocardio.com/login.
  2. Click on the Welcome tab on the top right corner.
  3. Click on Subscriptions.
  4. Find your plan and click Cancel.

Subscribers who signed up via Apple App Store:

  1. Open the Settings app.
  2. Tap on Your Apple ID.
  3. Tap on “Subscriptions.”
  4. Select the AudioCardio subscription.
  5. Tap “Cancel Subscription” to disable it from auto-renewing at the end of the current billing cycle.

Subscribers who signed up via Google Play Store:

  1. Open the Google Play Store app.
  2. Tap the user icon in the top right corner (Either a letter or an image).
  3. Select Payments & Subscriptions.
  4. Select Subscriptions.
  5. Select the subscription you want to cancel.
  6. Tap Cancel Subscription.
  7. Follow the onscreen instructions.

You can email us at support@audiocardio.com

 

Video FAQs

How To Set Up AudioCardio

What To Do If You Can Still Hear The Sound Therapy

How To Retake The Hearing Assessment

How do I know this app is working for me?

What does barely audible mean? 

My hearing score isn’t changing. What should I do?

Should I hear anything while the sound therapy is activated?

When should I retake my assessment?

I have tinnitus. Will this still work for me?

What if I can’t hear the assessment frequencies at the highest dBr value?

Why should I use Frequency Targeting?

What happens if I start to hear a clicking sound while the sound therapy is active?

Designed to Strengthen Your Hearing and Relieve Tinnitus.

Designed to Strengthen Your Hearing and Relieve Tinnitus.

Download the AudioCardio App on the Apple App Store or Google Play store!