Zinc supplementation for tinnitus

Abstract

Background Tinnitus is the perception of sound without external acoustic stimuli. Patients with severe tinnitus may have physical and psychological complaints and their tinnitus can cause deterioration in their quality of life. At present no specific therapy for tinnitus has been found to be satisfactory in all patients. In recent decades, a number of reports have suggested that oral zinc supplementation may be effective in the management of tinnitus. Since zinc has a role in cochlear physiology and in the synapses of the auditory system, there is a plausible mechanism of action for this treatment. Objectives To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of oral zinc supplementation in the management of patients with tinnitus.

The Effect of Antioxidant Supplementation in Patients with Tinnitus and Normal Hearing or Hearing Loss: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo Controlled Trial

“…Antioxidant supplementation studies in tinnitus are limited. Moreover, in most of them a monotherapy treatment approach has been proposed such as zinc [16,55,56], with no benefit in tinnitus. On the contrary, our hypothesis was that an antioxidant combination might be more effective compared with single nutrients, since various antioxidants have a synergistic/complementary activity [57].…”

Effects of oral zinc supplementation on patients with noise-induced hearing loss associated tinnitus: A clinical trial

“…The effect of zinc in patients with tinnitus is controversial among several reports [12] , [13] , [14] , [15] . In recent studies, zinc was not effective in treating adults with tinnitus [16] ; however, other authors identified patients with different etiology who may benefit from zinc supplementation [17] . Different access to tinnitus patients could be required according to audiometric shape [18] .…”

Do dietary factors significantly influence tinnitus?

“…According to Cochrane reviews, supplementation with ginkgo biloba or zinc does not relieve tinnitus symptoms and is no more effective than placebo (adverse effects such as gastrointestinal disturbances, headache or allergic reactions may occur). 25,26 Randomised, double-blinded, placebocontrolled trials also failed to show any effects on the use of antioxidant agents for tinnitus management (eg vitamins C and E, β-carotene, α-lipoic acid). 27,28 Nonetheless, after medications (45%) and hearing aids (9%), dietary supplements (8%) are one of the most widely discussed interventions in tinnitus management with physicians, as shown by a cross-sectional analysis of the representative 2007 National Health Interview Survey.…”