The Sound Asleep MP3/ipod Comfort Pillow- and how it can Help Tinnitus

I love technology that makes life better, and reminds me that most of the things I read about in 1930’s sci fi books have now mostly come true – how we laughed at the idea of a complete meal cooked in minutes from a box in the wall – hello microwaves and M&S ready meals! Now we have listening devices that are so small they are almost invisible and this means they can be used in places you might never have imagined – like your pillow.

Have you ever used music to help you drift off, or one of those subliminal tapes to learn a language or help you lose weight or stop smoking while you sleep? If you have you may have used headphones, or had to keep the volume low so your partner wasn’t disturbed by it, and you will know how annoying it is to start to drift off and hear the click as the music ends or you have to stretch to your bedside table and switch it off. Now there is a revolutionary new concept which marries a very comfortable memory foam pillow with a tiny built in speaker that you can plug your mp3, cassette player and most radios so you can drift off to sleep without uncomfortable headphones, or disturbing your partner. .

I asked a poor sleeper to test it out and they reported that the pillow was very comfortable as it moulded to their head shape and the tiny lead to their mp3 player could not be felt at all. They used a relaxing background track on their mp3 and found that a plus was that the pillow ‘switches off’ the sound at the end of your selected tracks. So no annoying click and, although you can hear your music or language cd clearly, it’s not audible to anyone else.

What particularly interested me about this whole concept is how it can use by those suffering from tinnitus. The continuous ringing or clicking sounds in the ear they experience seem more pronounced in quiet settings, such as in the bedroom before going to sleep. Sound therapy is often suggested and it works by reducing the difference, or contrast, between tinnitus sounds and a background sound which makes the tinnitus seem less intrusive. You can get ‘masking’ tracks to help muffle the tinnitus or just choose your favourite soft relaxing music to help you drift off.

The Sound Asleep Comfort Pillow will not emit any sound until it is connected to your device of choice such as a cd player or mp3/ipod and the cable is removable to keep the pillow tidy and safe when it’s not in use. Ideal if you like lying down and listening to music or audio books and don’t want to disturb anyone else.