

Tell HN: A Health Care Startup Idea.  And a question to ponder. - quickpost

I recently acquired idiopathic tinnitus.  In other words, I now have ringing in my ears 24/7 and I don't know the cause.<p>What's even more maddening is that there are no good treatments for this condition.  It is one of many "Cinderella Conditions" in healthcare - very little money is spent on what seems to be an eminently treatable and maybe even curable disease.  Not to mention a profitable one.<p>As of right now, "Approximately 40 million Americans have chronic tinnitus. For 10 million of these people, tinnitus can be a severely debilitating condition." according to Oregon University (source: http://www.ohsu.edu/ohrc/tinnitusclinic/factSheet.html#relieving%20tinnitus)<p>Not only that, but each of those 10 million people would be willing to spend SIGNIFICANT sums of money for viable treatments.  Look no further than what one YC user had to say about this condition:<p>---<p>"Ask HN: What would you love to pay for if it was available?"
A proven cure for tinnitus. I'd clean out my bank account and cash in all my 401Ks, if need be, to pay for the treatment. For those who don't know what tinnitus is, just imagine having a high-pitched ringing sound in your head that never, ever, ever stops. Ever.
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=551872<p>---<p>The closest viable option comes from a company called "Neuromonics" which basically charges $5000 for an IPod like device that retrains your brain to not hear the sounds.  Really?  That's the best solution the market can provide for 10 million sufferers with money in their hands?<p>Not to mention the fact that the number of people needing a solution like this is going to explode given the prevalence of noise induced hearing loss that is going to be present in this and future generations.<p>So that's my idea - take it and run with it, please. :)<p>------------<p>The broader question is: Why Aren't There More HealthCare Startups?<p>Every one of us probably knows someone suffering from a condition for which there aren't any good treatments?  Why aren't WE doing MORE to improve these conditions?<p>Additionally, every one of us will eventually come down with a disease or chronic condition that will either kill us or make certain aspects of our lives' miserable.  Do you really want to trust that other people will solve these problems before we encounter them?<p>I understand that health care startups are hard.  The barriers to entry are high, the success rates are fairly low, and the problems are difficult to solve.  But the reward to humanity and quality of life is higher than just about any web app you could build.<p>Does the world really need another twitter mashup?  Or should we be striving to work on more impactful things?<p>Food for thought, I guess.
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spoonyg
A bit off topic, but I have been doing medical startups for 10 years now and
can provide a little insight into your questions.

Directly helping people with technology is extremely satisfying and I would
definitely recommend it as a career. That said, it is not an easy career. You
have to be patient. Getting a new device from concept to even human trials
(much less market approval) can take 2-4 years and depending on the
complexity. You have to be diligent and tireless. The complexity and amount of
paperwork to meet regulatory compliance requirements would shock you. The
current product I am working on has about 15,000 pages of documentation, test
reports, etc. Nothing extra above the regulatory requirements is included in
this number.

In the end, my opinion is that the direct difference you can make in peoples
lives in the healthcare industry outweighs the difficulties.

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csomar
I study medicine. We studied about ear, in French, but I identified the
illness. In fact, this is a neurological disease and I'm not sure about the
"Neuromonics" device. The reason is that your auditory fibers are affected and
keep sending signals even if there is no sound at all. So I would be curious
to know how that handy device work to solve this problem.

Now solving this problem isn't easy, and solving it will consequently solves
other problems. Solving it needs someone that study neurophysiology in depth
and does endless researchers. Someone that spends his day/night/holiday
studying, testing and trying things. He can end up with a result and this
result would solve many problems.

He'll need at least 15 years studying this specialty in depth and may be
another 10 years researches. So someone young of 20 years old, will end up
with the result when he is 45 years old, wouldn't be easier to start a high-
tech startup and make money in his first year? Or loss his youth and 'may be'
become rich (extensively rich but 'may' is a matter).

The shorter way is the safer.

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subud
[http://www.soundtherapyinternational.com/for_the_ear_tinnitu...](http://www.soundtherapyinternational.com/for_the_ear_tinnitus.htm)

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mbrubeck
There are lots of health startups. Where I live (Seattle),
biotech/pharma/medical startups are a major part of the local economy. If
you're doing research that points to a viable solution for a health problem
that affects tens of millions of people, you can get funding for it.

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bbgm
"Were". The Seattle biotech industry is in shambles. Icos is gone, Rosetta is
gone, Zymogenetics has scaled down, and so on. The debris is pretty visible.
The non-profit research side is going great guns though.

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Mz
I guess it depends in part on your approach. I promote dietary and lifestyle
changes as a means to treat chronic illness, which isn't subject to the same
regulation as "medical" stuff. If you want to create medical stuff, then you
are talking heavy regulation. If you want to create or promote alternative
stuff, you are likely to face less regulation. Study after study after study
shows that chronic illness is significantly influenced by diet and lifestyle.
Encouraging dietary and lifestyle changes to promote wellness is usually not
considered "medical" per se.

My current plan is to work on better ways to share my mental models and
experiences/practices so people can more effectively implement lifestyle
changes and protective practices that work for me. To that end, I intend to
write a simulation at some point -- aka a game. I doubt I will run up against
any medical regulation in writing a game as a means to promote health and
wellness education.

FWIW: Tinnitus can sometimes be treated successfully with chelation and
supplements. (Magnesium comes to mind.)

