Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 6, 2026
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Investigating Causal Brain-behavioral Relationships and their Time Course
Published on: July 18, 2014
Combined temporal and prefrontal transcranial magnetic stimulation for tinnitus treatment: a pilot study
Tobias Kleinjung1, Peter Eichhammer, Michael Landgrebe
1Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany. tobias.kleinjung@klinik.uni-regensburg.de
Objectives:
Low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the temporal cortex has been proposed as a new treatment strategy for patients with chronic tinnitus. However, functional abnormalities in tinnitus patients also involve brain structures used for attentional and emotional processing, such as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Therefore, we have developed a new rTMS treatment strategy for tinnitus patients that consists of a combination of high-frequency prefrontal and low-frequency temporal rTMS.
Study Design:
A total of 32 patients received either low-frequency temporal rTMS or a combination of high-frequency prefrontal and low-frequency temporal rTMS. Treatment effects were assessed with a standardized tinnitus questionnaire (TQ).
Results:
Directly after therapy there was an improvement of the TQ-score for both groups, but no differences between groups. An evaluation after 3 months revealed a remarkable benefit from the use of combined prefrontal and temporal rTMS treatment.
Conclusion:
These results support recent data that suggest that auditory and nonauditory brain areas are involved in tinnitus pathophysiology.
