[Efficacy of carbamazepine combined with flunarizine hydrochloride for treating tinnitus].
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether carbamazepine is effective in treating the subjective tinnitus.


METHODS
Randomized, prospective,double-blind,controlled trial was used in our study. The study group consisted of 100 adult patients who consulted our outpatient clinic complaining of subjective tinnitus, excluded objective tinnitus and the patients who had tinnitus caused by obvious diseases, such as outer and middle ear diseases, 50 patients were given carbamazepine and Flunarizine Hydrochloride, 50 patients were given Vitamin B6 and Flunarizine Hydrochloride. After a week the effect of the different group of medicines was observed. Tinnitus questionnaire was performed before the treatment, and pure tone audiogram, tinnitus pitch and loudness matching were performed at the end of the treatment.


RESULTS
Completion of treatment, tinnitus loudness matching assessment showed that the efficacy of the carbamazepine group was similar to that of the control group. The efficacy of treatment was respectively 26% by intend to treat (ITT) and 28.3% by per protocol (PP) in the carbamazepine group and 26% by ITT and 27.7% by PP in the control group. The efficacy of treatment has no statistically significance for tinnitus loudness of the experimental group and the control group. The subjective tinnitus improvement rate showed no difference between two groups. Pure tone thresholds fluctuated within 10 dB in the beginning and at the end of the treatment. There were serious side effects in the carbamazepine group. The side effects rates were respectively 55.3% and 16.7% in the carbamazepine group and the control group, respectively. The difference had statistical significance.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results showed that the efficacy of carbamazepine combined with Flunarizine Hydrochloride is similar to that of the control group. There was no improvement in listening. But the side effects of it were more serious than that of the control group. It should not be recommended for the treatment of tinnitus.
Kong
Xiangsheng
X
Department of Otolaryngology, Third Hospital of Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China.
Ma
Furong
F
Xin
Ying
Y
Zhao
Yiming
Y
Li
Nan
N
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002220:Carbamazepine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005444:Flunarizine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006320:Hearing Tests; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014012:Tinnitus / Q000188:drug therapy*; D055815:Young Adult
D002220:Carbamazepine; D005444:Flunarizine