A smartphone app designed to tackle the underlying psychological causes of premature ejaculation could significantly improve your sex life and delay ejaculation, while offering a way to reduce the stigma around premature ejaculation, researchers say.
Data from the CLIMACS study will be presented today (Saturday 14 March 2026) at the European Association of Urology Annual Meeting (EAU26) in London. This is the first study to test a digital-first approach to treating premature ejaculation at home.
This app provides men with evidence-based information about this condition, along with teaching them several treatment techniques, tips, and exercises designed by urologists and psychologists.
This guided training is designed to help men manage their arousal and gain better control during ejaculation. This includes mindfulness, awareness exercises, cognitive behavioral therapy, as well as practical physical exercises to improve ejaculatory control, such as the start-stop technique.
Premature ejaculation is an annoying issue between the sheets, and everyone’s experience is different. Men with this condition usually ejaculate earlier than desired during sex, within 60 seconds of penetration. The disease, which affects up to 30% of men, is highly stigmatized and only 9% of men seek medical care.
The causes of premature ejaculation are complex and include relationship issues and psychological factors such as anxiety, stress, and depression. For many men, this can lead to worry and performance anxiety, which can affect relationships, but the most commonly available treatments, such as pills and creams, only suppress the symptoms.
The Germany-based CLIMACS study tested whether information and treatment techniques taught to men through the Melonga App® could help delay ejaculation. Researchers enrolled 80 men with no other underlying health conditions into a 12-week program. They each received a series of health questionnaires about their physical and psychological experiences during sex and were asked to use a stopwatch to measure the time from penetration to ejaculation. After 12 weeks, men in the control group (who were not receiving any other support from the study to manage their symptoms) were provided access to the app and followed up for 12 weeks. Sixty-six patients submitted completed questionnaires.
For the app users who participated in the study, the total time from penetration to ejaculation doubled after 12 weeks, increasing by an average of 64 seconds (from 61 seconds to 125 seconds). Men in the control group saw an average increase of just 0.5 seconds.
Men who used the app reported significantly better control over ejaculation during sex, less anxiety related to ejaculation, and less impact on their relationship. Men who used the app also significantly improved sexuality-related quality of life measures such as enjoyment and confidence, compared to no changes in the control group.
After 12 weeks, 22% of men who used the app no longer experienced premature ejaculation, according to self-reports.
The study’s lead researcher, Dr. Christer Groben, from the University of Marburg and the Heidelberg School of Medicine at the University of Heidelberg in Germany, is presenting the findings at EAU26. He said: “Many men living with premature ejaculation do not seek help due to the embarrassment associated with the condition. Our research shows that this can be used as a home self-help tool to help men improve ejaculatory control and achieve a satisfying sex life without losing their spontaneity.”
“The most commonly available pharmaceutical treatments are designed solely to treat the symptoms rather than the cause, which results in many men discontinuing treatment after a period of time. These men are undertreated and live with considerable psychological burden. It can actually start to affect the quality of your relationships. Going to the doctor for help can feel like a big first step, so apps like this help bridge that gap by normalizing the symptoms as something treatable.”
Dr. Giorgio Russo, associate professor of urology at the University of Catania in Italy and director of the EAU Young Academic Urology Secretariat, said: “There is a lot of information and misinformation out there for men who realize they have premature ejaculation. It was devised by urologists and psychologists as a new way to bring DUBAI together into a single, easily accessible, reliable, and evidence-based resource. Research shows that the app can completely treat around a quarter of patients.” These men were being treated without the use of pills, so this is a huge advance, and I think it would be interesting to build on this research in a larger study and look at the impact of the digital approach on user as well as partner satisfaction. ”
The final results of the CLIMACS study have not yet been peer-reviewed, but are expected to be published later this year. The app is available in Ireland, Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein and Belgium.
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European Association of Urology
