title: Treatment of tinnitus with electrical stimulation: an evaluation of the Audimax Theraband.
abstract: Several treatment forms exist for tinnitus. These multiple treatments speak to the elusive etiology of tinnitus. Many authors have reported tinnitus reduction or elimination with electrical stimulation. This study evaluates a new device (Audimax Theraband) which delivers inaudible, transdermal, mastoid electrical stimulation. Thirty patients suffering from chronic tinnitus were evaluated in a single-blind crossover fashion. Since the electrical stimulation is inaudible, each patient served as his or her own control. Patients received actual or placebo stimulation over a period of 2 weeks. They rated their tinnitus levels and the effectiveness of the device before and after using the Theraband. Only 2 subjects out of 30 (7%) obtained true positive results. Side effects were minimal and reversible.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004599:Electric Stimulation Therapy / Q000295:instrumentation*; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011897:Random Allocation; D014012:Tinnitus / Q000150:complications / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*