The headphones that could help ease hot flushes
Now that’s cool! The headphones that could help ease hot flushes
Special headphones that allow patients to ‘listen’ to their brainwaves could be a new way to tackle hot flushes.
The headphones are connected to a device containing sensors that detect brainwaves — it then turns these signals into audible sounds patients can hear almost immediately.
Researchers say that the sounds trigger the brain into correcting the nervous system, which is thought to play a key role in hot flushes.
Music to our ears! Hot flushes be controlled with a new device that’s currently being trialled
Around 50 women are now taking part in a clinical trial of the device in the U.S.
Hot flushes are a common symptom of the menopause. A rise in skin temperature in the face and upper body causes blood vessels just under the skin to dilate, leading to the characteristic ‘flushed’ look, as well as a feeling of intense heat and sweating.
While the exact cause of this is not known, one theory is that it involves a malfunction of the heat control mechanisms in the brain, possibly as a result of the changes in hormone levels that occur around the menopause.
The autonomic, or involuntary, nervous system, which regulates unconscious bodily functions such as heartbeat, is also involved in hot flushes.
The new device, which is known as HIRREM (high-resolution, relational, resonance-based, electroencephalic mirroring), works by detecting changes in the brain’s activity.
It has three components: scalp sensors, a small computer and headphones. First, sensors on the scalp monitor electrical activity in the brain. These signals are sent to a small computer, which is programmed to translate them into sounds. This series of sounds is then sent through wires to headphones worn by the patient — the whole process takes less than eight milliseconds.
Common: Hot flushes are a common symptom of menopause and affects millions of women
The theory is that hearing the sounds alerts the brain to any malfunction in the autonomic nervous system, which it then corrects. For example, if the tones are too erratic, it will reset the signals to make the pattern more regular and balanced.
This technique is also being investigated for post-traumatic stress disorder, insomnia and high blood pressure — all thought to be linked to irregular signals in the autonomic nervous system.
Research last year at Wake Forest University in the U.S., where the new hot flushes trial is being held, showed that the brain recognises the tones as reflecting its own electrical activity.
In a pilot study of 12 menopausal women given the treatment, researchers found it led to significant reductions in the frequency and severity of hot flushes, as well as reduced symptoms of insomnia and depression, reported the journal Menopause in 2015.
In the new study, 48 women will be given 20 sessions over three months, each roughly 90 minutes long, or continue with standard care, such as hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Symptoms will then be compared.
Commenting on the research, Haitham Hamoda, a consultant gynaecologist at King’s College Hospital in London, said: ‘This explores the theory that reflecting electrical activity in the brain may help reset the autonomic nervous system response to hot flushes and provide symptomatic relief for these.
‘Other studies along similar lines have shown a beneficial effect with cognitive behavioural therapy in managing hot flushes and, therefore, there is merit in further exploring this concept.
‘The results from the study are awaited with interest.’
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