Pharmacological Approaches to Tinnitus Treatment

Abstract

Available treatments for the management of tinnitus are diverse. Although most patients benefit from treatment to some degree, a large percentage of them are left untreated and in despair with the notion that ?they have to learn to live with their tinnitus?. Currently, there is no drug that is approved by the FDA or the EMEA for the treatment of tinnitus. Thus, tinnitus is still a clinically unmet need and most patients would welcome a drug that abolishes their phantom sound once and for all. There are different forms of tinnitus, which probably differ in their response to pharmacological treatment. Thus, even if a specific drug has failed to demonstrate efficacy in controlled clinical trials in a large sample, a beneficial effect in a subgroup of tinnitus patients should not be precluded. At present, most evidence-based pharmacological treatments treat specific comorbidities rather than the core of the disorder itself. There is an urgent need for effective treatment approaches. Since in some individuals tinnitus causes irritability, agitation, stress, depression, insomnia, and interferes with normal life - leading to suicidal attempts in severe cases - even a drug that produces a small but significant effect would have an enormous therapeutic impact. This review describes strategies currently available for tinnitus pharmacotherapy.