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Updated: Nov 12, 2025
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to the Unilateral Hemisphere of Rat Brain
Published on: October 22, 2016
An updated meta-analysis: repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for treating tinnitus
Lu Yin1, Xiao Chen1, Xingang Lu2
1Department of Tuina, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Objective:
To undertake an updated meta-analysis to obtain more evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to assess the effect of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for the treatment of tinnitus.
Methods:
PubMed®, Embase®, Web of Science, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, CBM, CNKI and Wanfang were searched for RCTs from inception up to March 2020. Studies meeting the eligibility criteria were included in the meta-analysis. The mean difference was calculated and the effect size was evaluated using a Z test.
Results:
The analysis included 12 randomized sham-controlled clinical trials with a total of 717 participants. Active rTMS was superior to sham rTMS in terms of the short-term and long-term effects (6 months) on the tinnitus handicap inventory scores, but an immediate effect was not significant. There was no significant immediate effect on the tinnitus questionnaire (TQ) and Beck depression inventory (BDI) scores.
Conclusions:
This meta-analysis demonstrated that rTMS improved tinnitus-related symptoms, but the TQ and BDI scores demonstrated little immediate benefit. Future research should be undertaken on large samples in multi-centre settings with longer follow-up durations.
