Low-Level Laser Therapy in Patients with Complaints of Tinnitus: A Clinical Study

Abstract

Objective. The objective of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) in treating patients who were suffering from long-term complaints of tinnitus with well-understood etiology and who were not responding to conventional therapy in Qatar. Design. This is a prospective clinical study conducted during the period from May 2010 and February 2011. Setting. Audiology Clinic, Outpatient Department, Hamad General Hospital. Subjects and Methods. The study included 65 patients aged 15–76 years with chronic unilateral or bilateral tinnitus with a minimum duration of illness of one year. The investigation included 101 ears of 65 patients. A 5 mW laser with a wavelength of 650 nm was applied transmeatally for 20 minutes once daily for 3 months. The study was based on a face-to-face interview with a designed questionnaire that recorded the diagnosis of patients, clinical evaluation and audiometric test results, and side effects of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) and scored their symptoms loudness on five-point scale every two weeks. A decrease of one scale point regarding the loudness duration and degree of annoyance of tinnitus was accepted to represent an improvement; at the same time, a pure tone audiometric test was carried out and the results recorded. In addition, a record of the side effect was taken. Results. Over half of the patients (56.9%) had some form of improvement in their tinnitus symptoms. Mild improvement was reported in 33.8% of patients, moderate improvement was reported in 16.9%, and full improvement was reported in 6.15%. Of the patients who reported dizzy spells as a symptom of their tinnitus condition, 27.7% reported mild improvement and 16.9% reported full improvement. Common side effects of LLLT were noted among 20% of patients; however, all of them were mild and disappeared within a few days. Conclusion. Low-level laser therapy was found to be useful for treatment of chronic tinnitus.

Alterations in Auditory Electrophysiological Responses Associated With Temporary Suppression of Tinnitus Induced by Low-Level Laser Therapy: A Before-After Case Series

“…In contrast to the findings of Nakashima et al, 18 Mirz et al, 19 and Teggi et al, 20 we found significant differences for subjective tests consisting of VAS for loudness, LMT, TQ and THI pre-to post-treatment. Consistent with Okhovat et al, 21 Tauber et al, 10 Cuda and De Caria, 14 Hahn et al 24 and Salahaldin et al, 16 an improvement in VAS, THI and reduction in loudness were reported pre-to post-LLLT in subjective descriptions of tinnitus. The efficacy of LLLT for tinnitus suppression according to subjective evaluations has been reported from 0% to 90% in different studies.…”

“…22 It has also been reported to improve local microcirculation through blocking sympathetic nerve action potential and increasing oxygen supply to hypoxic cells. 23 Of the studies that investigated the effects of LLLT on both hearing loss and tinnitus, some found different levels of improvement in hearing thresholds and tinnitus symptoms (Table 1), 10,[13][14][15][16] while others have found no significant effects. [17][18][19] The therapeutic effects of LLL on tinnitus are controversial and findings are inconsistent.…”

“…12 It has also been reported to decrease tinnitus loudness and annoyance. [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] The exact mechanism is unknown. LLLT has been assumed to be a thermal stimulator of biochemical processes in the inner ear.…”

A Combination of EGb 761 and Soft Laser Therapy in Chronic Tinnitus

“…[14] However, recent researches show more promising results. [15,16,17,18,19,20] This mismatch of findings can be clarified by different researchers' approaches, which concern the design of the study, physical parameters of the laser beam, topography of the radiated region, and duration and schedule of the laser therapy. Results from more recent surveys [16,17] are validated and confirmed by functional magnetic resonance and dosimetric studies.…”

The Effect of Low-Level Laser Therapy on Hearing

“…Some studies have found an improvement in hearing thresholds and tinnitus symptoms (e.g., [6–10]), while others have found no significant effect of LLLT (e.g., [11–15]). The reason for the discrepancy in findings is not known, but likely involves multiple factors such as study design, subject characteristics, LLLT methodology, and outcome measures used to assess the effects of LLLT.…”