Ginkgo biloba for the treatment of tinnitus

Multiple interventions have been postulated for the treatment of tinnitus, but none has been established as clearly effective. Ginkgo biloba has been proposed among the alternatives.

To answer this question we used Epistemonikos, the largest database of systematic reviews in health, which is maintained by screening multiple information sources, including MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane, among others. We extracted data from the systematic reviews, reanalyzed data of primary studies, and generated a summary of findings table using the GRADE approach.

We identified three systematic reviews including four primary studies, all corresponding to randomized trials. We concluded the use of Ginkgo biloba probably does not decrease the severity of tinnitus. In addition, it does not reduce the intensity of tinnitus or improve the quality of life of patients.