Suffer from motion sickness? Samsung thinks it can treat your symptoms with sound

Motion sickness is a very common condition that affects about a third of all people. Fortunately, there are a few ways to avoid or relieve the nausea and dizziness associated with motion sickness, such as over-the-counter medication or acupuncture. If those solutions don’t interest you, maybe Samsung’s new app will.

Samsung has quietly launched an app called Hearapy. It’s a fairly simple app with one specific purpose: to combat motion sickness. How does it fight motion sickness? Instead of medication or acupuncture, this app uses audio.

Specifically, the app emits a 100Hz tone at a volume of 85dB. According to Samsung’s VP of Marketing, “This stimulates the balance system in the inner ear, allowing for better processing of movements.” The idea is based on a study from Nagoya University in Japan.

These researchers investigated which tone most effectively stimulates the vestibular system. In their findings, they learned that listening to a 100Hz sine wave tone at a volume of 75 to 85 dB for several minutes can improve balance. It’s said that participants in the study reported experiencing significantly less stress and fewer symptoms during a car ride. On top of that, the effect can last up to two hours.

The app itself is fairly bare bones; you simply put your headphones on and tap the screen to play the tone. A built-in timer makes sure that you listen to the tone for the recommended time. In Samsung’s blog, it says this timer lasts for 60 seconds. However, when I downloaded the app, the timer lasted for 90 seconds.

Samsung specifically recommends using the app with the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, as it can deliver “clean and powerful 100 Hz sound.” It does not mention any other earbuds or headphones, including the Galaxy Buds 4. However, it appeared to work just fine with my Sony WF1000-XM4.

The Hearapy app is free, and it’s available on the Google Play Store. If you know anyone who suffers from motion sickness, you may want to recommend this app.