Ear, nose, & throat journal
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Efficacy of gabapentin on subjective idiopathic tinnitus: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
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. ⋯ 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.