diff --git a/include/sound/core.h b/include/sound/core.h
index 8b2ca95d13f7..a3f10294e834 100644
--- a/include/sound/core.h
+++ b/include/sound/core.h
@@ -75,6 +75,27 @@ struct snd_device {
 
 #define snd_device(n) list_entry(n, struct snd_device, list)
 
+/*
+ * A simple reference counter with a wait queue;
+ * typically used for usage counts, and you can synchronize at finishing
+ * via snd_refcount_sync(), which is woken up when the refcount reaches to
+ * zero again.
+ */
+struct snd_refcount {
+	atomic_t count;
+	wait_queue_head_t waiter;
+};
+
+void snd_refcount_init(struct snd_refcount *ref);
+
+static inline void snd_refcount_get(struct snd_refcount *ref)
+{
+	atomic_inc(&ref->count);
+}
+
+void snd_refcount_put(struct snd_refcount *ref);
+void snd_refcount_sync(struct snd_refcount *ref);
+
 /* main structure for soundcard */
 
 struct snd_card {
diff --git a/sound/core/misc.c b/sound/core/misc.c
index 833124c8e4fa..4772b2a3b808 100644
--- a/sound/core/misc.c
+++ b/sound/core/misc.c
@@ -174,3 +174,27 @@ void snd_fasync_free(struct snd_fasync *fasync)
 	kfree(fasync);
 }
 EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(snd_fasync_free);
+
+/*
+ * generic refcount helper
+ */
+
+void snd_refcount_init(struct snd_refcount *ref)
+{
+	atomic_set(&ref->count, 0);
+	init_waitqueue_head(&ref->waiter);
+}
+EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(snd_refcount_init);
+
+void snd_refcount_put(struct snd_refcount *ref)
+{
+	if (atomic_dec_and_test(&ref->count))
+		wake_up(&ref->waiter);
+}
+EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(snd_refcount_put);
+
+void snd_refcount_sync(struct snd_refcount *ref)
+{
+	wait_event(ref->waiter, !atomic_read(&ref->count));
+}
+EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(snd_refcount_sync);