Laser therapy is most effective treatment for tinnitus, study finds

Medical Xpress / FAPESP / Journal of Personalized Medicine ^ | June 21, 2023 | Julia Moióli / Vitor Hugo Panhóca et al

[ConservativeMind]

Low-level laser therapy and associated photobiomodulation is the most effective of the known treatments for tinnitus, according to a study comparing the main therapies in current use.

Often described as ringing or hissing in the ears, it is considered a symptom rather than a disease, but is unpleasant and in some cases incapacitating. Its known causes can range from a buildup of earwax and insufficient peripheral irrigation in the inner ear to brain damage and bruxism.

Panhóca and his team tested alternative and complementary treatments for idiopathic (with no apparent cause) and refractory tinnitus on more than 100 men and women aged 18-65, divided randomly into ten groups. The treatments tested were laser acupuncture, flunarizine dihydrochloride, Ginkgo biloba (a medicinal plant), and low-level laser stimulation of the internal auditory canal or meatus (transmeatal stimulation), on its own and combined with vacuum therapy, ultrasound, G. biloba or flunarizine dihydrochloride.

The patients were submitted to eight twice-per-week treatment sessions. They were clinically assessed before treatment began, after the eighth session and two weeks later, using a "tinnitus handicap inventory questionnaire" with a total of 25 questions. A functional subscale comprised 11 questions on mental, social, occupational and physical limitations due to tinnitus.

The best outcomes were observed in patients treated with laser acupuncture alone and transmeatal low-power laser stimulation alone. In the latter case, they improved even more when irradiation time was increased from 6 minutes to 15 minutes. Combinations of laser therapy with vacuum therapy or G. biloba, laser acupuncture alone, and flunarizine dihydrochloride alone also had lasting therapeutic effects.

"The positive effects include anti-inflammatory action and relaxation. We believe laser therapy can increase peripheral irrigation, which may be the main cause of the problem in many cases, as well as stimulating inner ear cell proliferation and collagen production," Panhóca said.

[Albion Wilde]

loud rock and roll,

Yep; that's my guilty pleasure. It's when I quit Springsteen, after having seen him twice, barely louder than acoustic in little clubs at the seashore. I then went to a Tower Theater concert and he had six speakers as big as sports cars, stacked three on either side of the stage. It was literally deafening. Later on I went to Yes, Genesis, REM and the like in stadiums, and even they were not that loud. But after that one experience with Springsteen, I used earplugs for all subsequent rock concerts.

These days I hear a sound like having the windows open on a summer night when you live near a creek in the woods (tree frogs, crickets, etc), but I hear it all year round.

[mad_as_he$$]

Just looking out for a effective treatment for my FRiends!