INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Imagine hearing a ringing in your ears all the time.

The noise can be so loud it can be debilitating.

It’s called tinnitus, and more than 50 million Americans are living with it right now.

No one knows why it happens, but a new drug-free, FDA-approved device is helping to silence the sound.

Everything is checked … and ready to go!

Bert Light has been at the controls for more than 32 years.

But he was almost grounded when his ears started to ring.

“And all of a sudden my hearing or the tinnitus went from a level four to a level 12 out of 10,” Light said.

Worse yet, nothing could stop it. “It’s a really difficult beast to treat because there’s no one size fits all with this,” Light said.

Dr. Melissa Wykoff, a hearing audiologist at Peachtree, says nobody knows why it happens.

“Tinnitus can be inescapable. you can’t shut it off,” Wykoff said.

Traditionally treated with cognitive behavioral therapy, sound therapy and retraining therapy, now tinnitus is being treated with this.

“Here’s your tongue tip. Put that into your mouth,” Wykoff said.

The Lenier device is the first and only FDA approved device to use sound and sensory stimulation to teach the brain to ignore the sounds.

“It’s stimulating two different pathways. So, what’s happening is there’s feeling on your tongue and then there’s sound in the ears. We’re stimulating your auditory cortex,” Wykoff said.

Patients use the device at home for 30 minutes, twice a day for 12 weeks.

“It’s not pills you’re taking, it’s not shots, Light said.

It worked for him.

“Right now, I have my hearing aids in, and my tinnitus is zero. I hear nothing,” said Light.

If left untreated, tinnitus can be challenging.

In fact, 18% of people with tinnitus say they suffer from depression and 21% had suicidal thoughts.

In the latest study, 70% of patients said they found relief with the Lenier device.

This story was created from a script aired on WISH-TV. Health Spotlight is presented by Community Health Network.