Samsung's new app uses sound to ease motion sickness claims

Samsung has introduced a new free app named "Hearapy," now accessible for Android devices via the Google Play store, which it claims can alleviate motion sickness symptoms using sound alone.

The app is very easy to use. It emits a low 100Hz sine wave through a connected pair of headphones for one minute.

This is intended to engage the vestibular system – the inner ear parts responsible for orientation and balance.

Users can adjust the tone duration between 40 to 120 seconds, but a minute-long session is claimed to help relieve symptoms like nausea for up to two hours. Users can repeat it as needed.

According to Samsung, the app was inspired by research carried out by Nagoya University in Japan released last year, which discovered that specific sound wavelengths reduced "the dizziness and discomfort experienced by people trying to read in a moving vehicle."

It’s not an absolute remedy, though, and results may differ based on the headphones used.

Samsung advises using their Galaxy Buds 4 Pro with the app, but while Hearapy is compatible with most headphones or earbuds, they should be capable of playing the tone at an 80 to 85-decibel volume level for optimal results.