Multimodal therapy for chronic tinnitus

From 2001 to 2006, we performed a retrospective study of patients suffering from chronic unilateral or bilateral tinnitus that was previously ineffectively treated by oral drugs [betahistine (Betaserc), extract of Ginkgo biloba (EGb 761), tanakan (Tebokan), and cinnarizine-dimenhydrinate (Arlevert), singly or in combination]. We divided 150 tinnitus patients (80 men, 70 women) into seven treatment groups. Treatments consisted of application of intravenous pentoxifylline, lidocaine, or vinpocetine (Cavinton) and combination of these agents with physiotherapy and soft laser. Mean duration (+/- standard deviation) of tinnitus in these patients was 7.4 +/- 6.0 years; their mean age was 55.6 +/- 12.5 years. The aim of our study was to compare treatment modalities and define their effectiveness for tinnitus relief. The most effective treatment was defined as a combination of Cavinton and physiotherapy. We evaluated pure lidocaine infusion therapy as ineffective. None of the treatment modalities had an objective correlate of improvement, though improvement was reported by a visual analog scale.