GoKawiilMost people have experienced mild motion sickness -- perhaps from staring at your phone in the back of an erratic Uber or riding a particularly loopy amusement park ride. It usually passes quickly, but severe cases can be challenging to manage. Samsung now has an app for that. The tech giant's new Hearapy app for Android uses the headphones you already own to relieve motion sickness with sound.
Motion sickness is generally what you get when the signals from your eyes and inner ear don't jibe with each other, resulting most commonly in dizziness or, in severe cases, nausea, sweats and vomiting. It's most frequently experienced in cars, on boats and other moving vehicles, but can also be caused by tech, including phones. The disorienting cybersickness, for example, can be brought on by scrolling screens or playing video games or VR.
Frequent or severe motion sickness can be treated with over-the-counter medicine, pressure point therapy, acupuncture, candy or just staring at a fixed point for a while. However, Samsung's app directly targets and soothes the inner ear by stimulating it with sound waves.
Samsung Hearapy is a simple app. Pop in your headphones, click the Start button and a low-frequency bass sine wave is played for around 60 seconds. According to Samsung, this minute of deep audio stimulation resets the inner ear's balance system and can relieve motion sickness for up to two hours.
The Hearapy app is simple: Open it and tap start to hear the 100Hz tone for 60 seconds. Headphones are recommended. Samsung, Screenshot by Antuan Goodwin/CNET
Samsung recommends headphones for best results -- naturally pointing to its own Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, though any pair will work -- and won't play the tone until headphones are connected. You can override this in the settings, if you're willing to risk disappointment from your phone's tiny speakers. The tone duration can also be adjusted between 40 and 120 seconds.
Samsung supports its motion sickness solution with scientific research. The developers reference a study from Japan's Nagoya University that examined sound therapy as a way to improve balance in mice and humans. According to the researchers, people who listened to a 100Hz sine tone for one to two minutes experienced up to two hours of improved balance, lower stress levels and reduced motion sickness symptoms during a car ride.
I've never experienced severe motion sickness. In fact, I suspect I'm immune to it, which is a blessing given how often I write in moving vehicles. So I couldn't fully test Samsung's claims about the app's effectiveness. Even so, I gave it a listen, and at the very least, it's a relaxing tone. But if you or someone you know deals with frequent motion sickness, it's worth trying. The Hearapy app is free and available on the Google Play Store.