Electromagnetic stimulation as a treatment of tinnitus: a pilot study

This paper reports the results of a study to determine whether pulsed electromagnetic stimulation, applied over the mastoid bone, caused an improvement in the level of tinnitus in long-standing tinnitus sufferers. Fifty-eight patients from the Liverpool Tinnitus Association volunteered to take part in a double-blind placebo controlled trial. Active and placebo devices were randomly allocated to these patients on their first visit. At the end of one week of treatment, each patient noted whether their tinnitus had completely disappeared, was improved, unchanged or made worse by the treatment Forty-five per cent of the patients who completed the trial were improved by the active device, but only 9% by placebo (P = 0.0013, Mann-Whitney test). We suggest that electromagnetic stimulation may be an effective treatment in some tinnitus sufferers.