Have you taken your music today?

For some people music is therapeutic, it helps to kick stress to the curb, helps you unwind, takes you away for a few hours. But can music do more than provide a mental getaway? Could music cure Tinnitus? German scientists believe they are on to something.

A European Union (EU) health panel expressed concern in January about the potential for hearing damage caused by young people playing their MP3 players too loud. The EU Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks warned that listening to personal music devices at high volumes for long periods of time could cause hearing loss and tinnitus. The warning prompted the European Commission to issue a new safe volume standard for MP3 players.

Christo Pantev of the Institute for Biomagnetism and Biosignalanalysis at Westfalian Wilhelms-University, Germany, who led the study, said that “an enjoyable, low-cost, custom tailored notched music treatment” could significantly diminish the impairment from tinnitus.