What medications are used to treat tinnitus?

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From the Research

Medications Used to Treat Tinnitus

  • Various medications are used to treat tinnitus, including:
    • Anesthetics
    • Antiarrhythmics
    • Anticonvulsants
    • Antidepressants
    • Antihistamines
    • Antipsychotics
    • Anxiolytics
    • Calcium channel blockers
    • Cholinergic antagonists
    • NMDA antagonists
    • Muscle relaxants
    • Vasodilators
    • Vitamins 1
  • Pharmacologic interventions with brain-acting effect, such as amitriptyline, acamprosate, and gabapentin, have been associated with superior improvement in tinnitus severity and response rate compared to placebo/control 2
  • Medications with anti-inflammation/anti-oxidant effect, such as intra-tympanic dexamethasone injection plus oral melatonin, have also been associated with improvement in tinnitus severity and response rate 2

Specific Medications and Their Effects

  • Amitriptyline has been associated with the highest improvement in tinnitus severity and the fourth highest response rate 2
  • Antidepressants, such as SSRIs, have been found to be effective in treating tinnitus, particularly in patients who are depressed or anxious, or who have more severe tinnitus 3
  • Lidocaine has been shown to transiently suppress tinnitus, indicating that the symptom is susceptible to pharmacotherapy 4

Limitations and Challenges

  • No medications have been specifically approved to treat tinnitus by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 1
  • The pathophysiology of tinnitus is poorly understood, making it challenging to find effective treatments 5
  • Many different forms of tinnitus with different and often multiple causes exist, making it difficult to develop effective treatments 5

References

1
Research

Review of Pharmacotherapy for Tinnitus.

Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 2021

3
Research

Antidepressants for treatment of tinnitus.

Progress in brain research, 2007

4
Research

Pharmacotherapy of Tinnitus.

Current topics in behavioral neurosciences, 2021

5
Research

Drug treatments for tinnitus.

Progress in brain research, 2007

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