Efficacy of gabapentin on subjective idiopathic tinnitus: a randomized,
double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
Author(s): Dehkordi MA, Abolbashari S, Taheri R, Einolghozati S.
Affiliation(s): The Department of Otolaryngology, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad Branch,
Mashhad, Iran.
Publication date & source: 2011, Ear Nose Throat J. , 90(4):150-8
Tinnitus can cause extreme morbidity. Despite many attempts to find a treatment
for idiopathic cases, they remain difficult to manage. Because nerve injury is
one of the suspected etiologies of tinnitus and because gabapentin has been found
to be effective in treating nerve injuries, some authors have attempted to
determine if gabapentin has a role in treating tinnitus. Although gabapentin was
found to be ineffective for tinnitus in these previous studies, to the best of
our knowledge no studies have been performed that took into consideration the
presence of various accompanying factors and concomitant diseases that might
influence its effect. We conducted a prospective, randomized, double-blind,
placebo-controlled clinical trial of gabapentin for idiopathic tinnitus. We
treated 40 patients with gabapentin and measured its effectiveness by comparing
differences between pre- and post-treatment Tinnitus Severity Index (TSI) values
and tinnitus loudness scores. We also compared these outcomes with those of a
group of 40 matched placebo controls. At study's end, we found no significant
differences between the gabapentin and control groups in mean decreases in TSI
value and loudness score (p=0.85 and p=0.12, respectively). However, we did find
that patients with hypertension, diabetes, and/or dyslipidemia showed a better
response to gabapentin than did those with tinnitus alone (p=0.01). We conclude
that although there was no statistically significant difference between
gabapentin and placebo in treating isolated tinnitus or tinnitus overall,
patients with concomitant hypertension, diabetes, and/or dyslipidemia may benefit
from gabapentin.
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