Neuroprotective Drug Therapy: A Medical and Pharmacological Treatment for Tinnitus Control

The role of neuroprotective agents for maintaining or improving inner ear function, specifically for the symptom of tinnitus, is presented on the basis of neurootological, neurological, and neurosurgical clinical experiences. These clinical experiences involved the use of calcium channel blockers, free radical scavengers, corticosteroids, antagonists of glutamate at N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and non-NMDA receptors, and various thrombolytic agents for the etiologies of ischemia, trauma, and hemorrhage. A pharmacological basis for such drug efficacy includes a property described as neuroprotection. A pathology-based protocol for drug selection is proposed for tinnitus control. The goal of this article is to introduce to the neurootologist or otologist and other professionals attempting tinnitus control neuroprotective drug therapies that are being applied to such central nervous system pathological processes as ischemia, trauma, hemorrhage, and neurodegeneration. The innovative application of such drug therapies for treating the symptom of tinnitus of the severe disabling type is considered. The use of neuroprotective drugs in intratympanic drug therapy via the round window, for treatment of inner ear complaints of hearing loss, tinnitus, and vertigo, is discussed.