The AudioNotch Tinnitus Treatment Blog

Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Therapy (also known as rTMS) is a relatively new technology that has been used to treat a variety of brain based disorders, such as depression. It involves using a device to magnetically stimulate the brain non-invasively. Here is a link to an abstract of a paper that found evidence that it can be used to decrease tinnitus volume.

Regrettably, a review paper came to the following conclusion:

There is very limited support for the use of low-frequency rTMS for the treatment of patients with tinnitus. When considering the impact of tinnitus on patients’ quality of life, support is from a single study with a low risk of bias based on a single outcome measure at a single point in time. When considering the impact on tinnitus loudness, this is based on the analysis of pooled data with a large confidence interval.Studies suggest that rTMS is a safe treatment for tinnitus in the short-term, however there were insufficient data to provide any support for the safety of this treatment in the long-term.More prospective, randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind studies with large sample sizes are needed to confirm the effectiveness of rTMS for tinnitus patients. Uniform, validated, tinnitus-specific questionnaires and measurement scales should be used in future studies.

I can understand the frustration of the tinnitus patient community with respect to research and the prospect for a cure. Further scientific study seems to invalidate the initially promising claims of various fields of research.

Cheers,
AudioNotch.