Current Concepts in Tinnitus Treatment

Current Concepts in Tinnitus Treatment
Dr. Hamidreza Abtahi

Tinnitus is a symptom of an underlying disease in some cases, so can be treated by addressing the specific cause. In majority of tinnitus patients, there is not any specific disease, but even in these cases, severity of tinnitus can be reduced by several treatments. Also, you can alleviate tinnitusrelated annoyance in significant number of patients.

Different medications are available for tinnitus treatment. Anticonvulsants (such as gabapentin, carbamazepine), TCAs, SSRIs, SNRIs, melatonin, supplements (such as magnesium) are most prescribed drugs in these patients. There are some clues to help doctors in drug selection. Sound therapy is one of the most defined therapies used in tinnitus .Although in recent years, efficacy of cochlear implantation in tinnitus patients has been shown.

In recent years, increasing number of studies has done to evaluate efficacy of neuromodulation therapies e.g. neurofeedback, TMS and TDCS to reduce severity or annoyance of tinnitus. There are some criteria to select these treatment options.

Psychological approaches such as CBT, TRT and so on have been considered effective methods to treat tinnitus, and many studies are handled in this field.

There are some evidences to show effectiveness of complementary medicine such as acupuncture in tinnitus, but patients must be warned against “pseudomedicine “methods e.g. LASER, homeopathy.