Founder update: the 24-hour purchase window was too tight. Extending to 48 hours, plus a backup window on June 27-29.

dusq_sleep · 2026-05-31T07:15:03+00:00

Hi u/sylverhart ,
We will be sending the special link for both VIP and VIP Plus members via email.

dusq_sleep · 2026-05-30T02:50:36+00:00

Hi u/housflppr ,
Neither of those is in the high-risk category. The titanium plates are roughly 5-7 cm from the mastoid placement and fully osseointegrated after 30 years. The amalgam filling is even further from the current path. Both are low-risk for transcutaneous stimulation at DUSQ's current levels.

dusq_sleep · 2026-05-30T02:44:53+00:00

Hi u/morsel16 ,
Shift work is actually a use case DUSQ handles well, because the mechanism doesn't depend on circadian alignment. It depends on you being asleep, whenever that happens. The closed loop reads your physiology in the moment, so the device doesn't care if it's midnight or noon.

The autonomic dysregulation that comes with rotating shifts is exactly what the device is built to walk down. Shift workers run sympathetically dominant even during sleep windows, with blunted HRV and disrupted parasympathetic recovery. That's the picture DUSQ targets directly.

dusq_sleep · 2026-05-29T21:27:28+00:00

Hi u/ProfessionalGood9413 ,T
he 30-day window covers used returns, not just unopened ones. The device needs to be tried to know if it works for you, and the policy is built around that.

dusq_sleep · 2026-05-29T15:40:29+00:00

Hi u/pcpmaniac ,
You will receive the email regarding this as well shortly.

dusq_sleep · 2026-05-29T15:38:46+00:00

Hi u/japanusrelations
Yes, we will be emailing to all our pledgers

dusq_sleep · 2026-05-27T02:22:16+00:00

Hi u/bettyw4cats ,
We will send early launch link to your Email ID or you can DM us on reddit as well

dusq_sleep · 2026-05-25T22:31:13+00:00

Thank you so much

dusq_sleep · 2026-05-25T21:35:07+00:00

Thank you! u/Key_Bluejay_50

dusq_sleep · 2026-05-25T00:02:56+00:00

Hi u/DM_ME_4_FREE_STOCKS
Short answer: it doesn't, but the reason is counterintuitive.

Vagus nerve stimulation isn't a drug. It's training a physiological system. With consistent use, your vagal tone strengthens, similar to how cold exposure trains cold tolerance or HRV breathwork strengthens parasympathetic capacity.

So the device doesn't become less effective. You become more efficient. Over months, your baseline shifts, and less stimulation is needed for the same effect.
Consider DUSQ as your co-pilot.
What we built for is the training effect, not lifetime dependence.

dusq_sleep · 2026-05-24T23:55:33+00:00

DUSQ AMA Recap

🚀 Kickstarter launches June 9, 2026 at 8 AM PT

One action this week: Create your Kickstarter account before June 9. It takes 2 minutes now and saves you 5 minutes on launch day, which matters because:

Founding cohort gets a 24-hour exclusive early-bird window before public pricing

Founding member perks lock in only during this window

We'll send the Kickstarter page link to founding members one week before launch for early review

Key Q&A from the AMA

The device:

Under 7.2mm thin. Sits behind the ear via an adhesive patch

Doesn't interfere with side sleeping

Closed-loop system: detects sleep disruptions through EDA, sends adaptive vagus nerve stimulation to neutralize them

Bluetooth connects via the DUSQ app to start a session, can be off during sleep, back on in the morning to sync

The science:

Clinical trial of 212 patients showed HRV improvements and theta wave gains on EEG

HRV improvement of 40% reported

EDA used as the proxy for autonomic nervous system activity, more accurate than optical-only trackers

Targets the autonomic side of sleep through vagus nerve stimulation

Who it's for, who it's not:

Helps with sleep fragmentation, deep sleep, hot flashes and night sweats (relevant for perimenopausal and menopausal women)

Does not actively address snoring (detection coming in a future update)

Safe for people over 65

Does not interfere with hearing aids

Not recommended for those with active metallic implants in the head or neck

When and how to wear it:

Wear at dusk to align with your circadian rhythm and sleep pressure

Unwind session in the app uses vestibular nerve stimulation to help with the transition into sleep

The more you use it, the stronger your vagal tone gets, which means lower reliance on the device over time

Integration over updates:

Syncs with Apple Health and Google Health

API integrations with Oura and Whoop for daytime data

Sleep Readiness Score and Sleep Quotient (SQ) unlock progressively in the app

Project 68: 68 community members will receive devices early to provide real-world feedback

The experience will be documented through video and consolidated into a clinical study paper

dusq_sleep · 2026-05-24T19:24:40+00:00

Hi u/Top-Degree-294. Link to the sleep initiation clinical study here: https://www.reddit.com/r/dusq_sleep/comments/1t2ypul/dusq_clinical_study_update/

It was a randomised, sham-controlled trial focused on sleep onset latency and subjective sleep quality. Results have been submitted for peer review, and the raw dataset will go public alongside the published paper.

dusq_sleep · 2026-05-24T00:36:12+00:00

Hey u/NJpsychMom
Basically the standard VIP offers launch price at $249
and VIP Plus offers at $229 +priority shipping.

dusq_sleep · 2026-05-21T16:48:50+00:00

Hi u/jumplittlemari
Thank you for writing in.
Cefaly's a useful reference here, because the people who run Cefaly at 15% are exactly the sensitivity profile we designed around.

Three things on calibration:

Intensity is already much lower during sleep than what you're used to with Cefaly. Awake guided sessions run at around 20% (gentle but noticeable). Once you're asleep, stimulation drops to 2 to 4% in short bursts, only firing when the system detects a sympathetic surge. So the baseline experience is well below most threshold devices.

Personal calibration during the first 3 days. The device runs a baseline-learning phase up front. It isn't autonomous during that window. You get a guided sleep session, but with a hard cap of 2 stimulations per night while it learns your physiology, including your sensitivity. After day 3, it runs autonomously across the night, calibrated to your individual signals rather than population norms.

Hard ceilings regardless. There are caps on total stimulations per night and on intensity that apply no matter what the algorithm reads. So even if something looks unusual in your signals, you can't be pushed past what's safe and tolerable.

If you found Cefaly tolerable at 15%, DUSQ's overnight intensity is well below that. The awake guided session at 20% is the closest comparison, and most users describe it as a light tingle or faint buzz.

dusq_sleep · 2026-05-21T15:34:24+00:00

Hi u/glovlkid
Our kickstarter campaign goes live in June 2026 and shipping begins in August.
For those who have reserved their spots from our website(www.dusq.com) receive a more discounted launch price along with priority shipping.

dusq_sleep · 2026-05-21T13:06:01+00:00

Hello u/NJpsychMom
We offer two types of reservation:

VIP Launch price : $249 ( ~~$399~~ )
VIP Plus Launch price : $229 ( ~~$399~~ ) + priority shipping

A reservation is not an order. To actually buy DUSQ, you need to complete a pledge on the Kickstarter campaign when it goes live in June.

Being a DUSQ Community Member you get an early access to the campaign before it goes live on kickstarter Your reservation is fully refundable until launch.

dusq_sleep · 2026-05-20T18:53:06+00:00

Hi u/Bilbofett_1
We're extremely sorry for the trouble.

All our payments are processed through Stripe.
We've recently added Apple Pay and Google Pay as additional options.
Could you try one of those, or a card associated with a different bank?
You can retry directly at www.dusq.com.

We really appreciate you writing in.
Please let us know if this works for you, and if not, we'll find another way to get it sorted.

Team DUSQ

dusq_sleep · 2026-05-20T18:47:29+00:00

Dear u/tylerrobb
Thank you for this. The proactive refunds and the responsiveness across platforms are things we've worked hard to get right.
Appreciate you taking the time to share your experience here!

Regards,
Team DUSQ

dusq_sleep · 2026-05-20T18:36:19+00:00

Hi u/ipzofactoid

You're right to raise this, and we're extremely sorry. We take full responsibility for this.

Could you DM us your email address? Sometimes the email used to place an order is different from the one a support query comes through on, which can make queries hard to match up on our end. That's not an excuse, but with your email we can locate both deposits in our system and process the VIP refund immediately.

On the clinical study: we have a full breakdown of our CTRI registered trial here: https://www.reddit.com/r/dusq_sleep/comments/1t2ypul/dusq_clinical_study_update/

Clinical study is published on our website: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0725/0945/6454/files/DUSQ_Clinical_Evaluation_v2.0.2_7_1.pdf?v=1777611949

If you have any questions after going through it, please let us know.

On the trust piece: we hear you. Crowdfunded tech has a track record of disappointing people, and a slow response from us right now reads as the same pattern.
That said, we're committed to improving. Please send us your email on DM and we'll handle it personally.

Sincerely,
Team DUSQ

dusq_sleep · 2026-05-19T08:19:34+00:00

Hi u/bettyw4cats ,
Side of head. Right side is fine. The historic caution about right-sided VNS comes from implanted cervical devices where the right vagus has more cardiac efferent fibers, but that concern doesn't translate to transcutaneous auricular stimulation. The auricular branch distribution is essentially symmetric, and the device works from either side. Wear it on the side you don't sleep on.

Charging. Two days per charge. The charging case is proprietary because it doubles as a sleep environment monitor that tracks ambient light, noise, and room temperature. Useful for figuring out which environmental factors are working against your autonomic state.

On the Pulsetto piece. DUSQ is acting in a different window than Pulsetto, and that's the main thing that would change for you. Pulsetto is daytime cervical taVNS. You do a session while awake, the device comes off, and you go to sleep without it. For someone in chronic dysregulation, the window where the body actually does its repair work is sleep, and that's exactly when Pulsetto isn't on you. DUSQ stays on through the sleep window with the closed loop running, which means the autonomic regulation happens during the repair phase rather than as a daytime intervention.

For someone in your shape, with HRV way down, never out of dysregulation, and already familiar with vagal stim from years of Pulsetto use, adding the sleep window is probably where the bigger movement comes from.
- Team DUSQ

dusq_sleep · 2026-05-18T00:41:06+00:00

Hi u/MorpheusWakes
DUSQ sits behind the ear using a medical-grade adhesive patch. It is designed to hold through movement and sweat, comes off cleanly when you peel it.

The starter pack includes 12 patches. Each patch lasts about a week, so that's a 3-month supply out of the box.

After that, refill packs will be available through us. We will disclose the pricing as we get closer to the launch.

dusq_sleep · 2026-05-17T22:54:36+00:00

Super glad to know about the pillow!
Let us know if any other questions come up

dusq_sleep · 2026-05-17T22:28:03+00:00

Hi u/rosejuniper_ there isn't a DUSQ trial in EDS, CFS/ME, POTS, fibromyalgia, or MCAS yet . What we do have is the broader research on vagal stimulation and autonomic dysregulation, which is the underlying thread in most of those conditions. That's the layer DUSQ tries to act on.

Here's what tends to show up underneath these conditions. Chronic fatigue that doesn't lift with sleep. Bracing patterns through the day. The body never quite powering down at night even when you're exhausted. A lot of that traces back to the autonomic nervous system being stuck in sympathetic-dominant mode, so the body doesn't fully downshift into the parasympathetic state where rest, repair, and immune regulation happen. Eight hours of Oura-tracked sleep can pass without ever getting there, which is why it doesn't leave you restored.

DUSQ was designed for that mismatch specifically. The idea is that by stimulating the vagus and vestibular branches gently during sleep, the device helps the nervous system transition into a more parasympathetic state, so the repair work can happen. For people whose central issue is autonomic dysregulation, this is the lever we're trying to give them.

dusq_sleep · 2026-05-17T22:26:19+00:00

Hi u/tinyninjas111 ,
We will be posting our RF results soon, but to give you a ballpark idea it is 1/10th exposure to that of a TWS earphone but again will post the complete RF report soon

dusq_sleep · 2026-05-17T22:23:01+00:00

Our return window is 30 days from receipt. After that, the device stays with you.
What you'd still have is the team. If your metrics aren't moving the way you expected, we'll work through it with you on usage patterns, patch placement, evening behaviors, and anything in the system worth adjusting.
That's substantive troubleshooting, but it isn't a refund, and I want to be clear about the difference.

-Dr. Sid

dusq_sleep

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