Most studies used about two hours a day, most days, for three to twelve months. No study has shown that less works, and the one trial that tested a burst of six hours a day found the effect faded once listening stopped. A realistic plan: two hours a day, split into sessions, at a comfortable volume, with an honest check-in at three months.
What the studies actually used
Every listening schedule below comes from a published trial. None of them tested what happens at 20 or 30 minutes a day, so no one knows whether shorter sessions do anything.
| Study | Daily listening | For how long | What they found |
|---|---|---|---|
| Okamoto et al., 2010 | About 1–2 hours (roughly 12 hours a week) | 12 months | Quieter tinnitus in the correctly notched group; 8 people per group |
| Teismann et al., 2011 | 6 hours | 5 days in a row | Lower loudness and distress for pitches at or below 8,000 Hz, but the effect did not last |
| Wunderlich et al., 2015 | 2 hours | 3 months | Less tinnitus distress after training; notch width made no difference |
| Stein et al., 2016 | 2 hours | 3 months | No change on the main distress measures; lower loudness one month after training ended |
| Atipas et al., 2021 | Daily, attentive listening (logged) | 6 months | No significant difference from ordinary music, though the notched group trended better |
Two things stand out. First, two hours a day is the closest thing to a standard. Second, the short, intense version did not hold up: its authors concluded the approach needs to be a longer-term habit rather than a quick course.
Does more listening help?
Possibly, up to a point. A 2022 randomized study of sound therapy in general (not notched music specifically) found that people who listened three or five hours a day got more relief than those who listened one hour. It's a reasonable hint that the dose matters, but it hasn't been tested with notched music, and there is no evidence that marathon sessions are better than steady daily ones. Consistency over months matters more than any single long day.
A routine you can actually keep
- Aim for about two hours a day, in pieces. Two one-hour sessions, or four half-hour blocks, add up the same. The studies set a daily total, so pick whatever pieces fit your day.
- Build a two-hour playlist. At about four minutes a song, that's roughly 30 notched songs. Enough variety means you won't tire of them, and one press of play covers a full day's listening.
- Attach it to something you already do. Your commute, a walk, cooking, answering email. At least one trial asked people to listen attentively, and we don't know whether background listening works as well, so give it some of your attention when you can.
- Keep the volume gentle. Comfortable, never sharp. Louder is not better here, and loud listening can harm the hearing you have.
- Keep a simple log. Note your minutes each day and, once a week, rate how much the tinnitus intruded on your life from 0 to 10. Intrusion is a more useful measure than loudness, which drifts day to day. (Notch Music’s My practice tab keeps this log for you.)
- Check in honestly at three months. If nothing has shifted, it's reasonable to stop and put that time into the parts of tinnitus care that help most people more. If something has, keep going: the research suggests the benefit fades when the listening stops.
When to expect a difference
Don't judge it in the first week or two. The trials measured results at one, three, six and twelve months, and the encouraging findings came after months of steady listening. Some people notice their tinnitus is briefly quieter right after a session (called residual inhibition). That's a nice moment, but it isn't the lasting change the practice is aiming for, so don't use it as your only gauge.
Frequently asked questions
How many hours a day should I listen to notched music?
Most studies used about two hours a day. That total can be split into shorter sessions. There is no research showing that much shorter daily listening works.
How long does it take for notched music to work?
Give it at least three months of regular listening before judging it. The encouraging results in research came after months, not days, and for many people it does nothing measurable.
Can I listen to notched music in the background while I work?
You can, and it's easier to keep up that way. One trial asked people to listen attentively, and no study has compared attentive and background listening, so give it some of your attention when you can.
Is it okay to listen to notched music through headphones?
Yes, at a comfortable volume. Headphones make it easier to hear the music clearly, but keep the level gentle and take breaks. If a sound feels sharp or makes the ringing worse, turn it down or stop.
What happens if I stop listening?
Research suggests the effects fade when the listening stops, which is why notched music works best as an ongoing habit rather than a one-time course.
Sources
- Okamoto H, Stracke H, Stoll W, Pantev C. Listening to tailor-made notched music reduces tinnitus loudness and tinnitus-related auditory cortex activity. PNAS 2010;107(3):1207–10. doi:10.1073/pnas.0911268107
- Teismann H, Okamoto H, Pantev C. Short and intense tailor-made notched music training against tinnitus: the tinnitus frequency matters. PLoS ONE 2011;6(9):e24685. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0024685
- Wunderlich R, Lau P, Stein A, et al. Impact of spectral notch width on neurophysiological plasticity and clinical effectiveness of the tailor-made notched music training. PLoS ONE 2015;10(9):e0138595. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0138595
- Stein A, Wunderlich R, Lau P, et al. Clinical trial on tonal tinnitus with tailor-made notched music training. BMC Neurology 2016;16:38. doi:10.1186/s12883-016-0558-7
- Atipas S, Therdphaothai J, Suvansit K, et al. A randomized, controlled trial of notched music therapy for tinnitus patients. J Int Adv Otol 2021;17(3):221–7. doi:10.5152/iao.2021.9385
- The impact of daily hours of sound therapy on tinnitus relief for people with chronic tinnitus: a randomized controlled study. J Speech Lang Hear Res 2022. doi:10.1044/2022_JSLHR-21-00651