title: Comparison of various treatment modalities for acute tinnitus.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Because in most cases the development of tinnitus is triggered by cochlear damage, there exists the opportunity to eliminate tinnitus while the cochlear lesion is still reversible. Therefore, we evaluated the therapeutic effects of various treatment modalities on acute subjective idiopathic tinnitus (SIT) and investigated prognostic factors affecting the treatment outcome.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective, controlled, double-blind trial.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total 107 patients who underwent treatment for unilateral SIT that had developed within the previous 3 months completed the study. The patients were randomly assigned into three groups according to the treatment modality: group I (n = 32), alprazolam orally for 3 months; group II (n = 35), as for group I plus four intratympanic dexamethasone (ITD) injections; and group III (n = 40), as for group II plus four intravenous injections of lipo-prostaglandin E(1) .
  
  
  RESULTS
  The improvement rate of group II (75.8%) was significantly higher than that of group I (40.3%; P < .05), and there was no significant difference in the improvement rate of group III (50.0%) compared with groups I and II (P > .05). The cure rates of group II (25.8%) and group III (20.0%) were significantly higher than that of group I (9.8%; P < .05). There was a significant correlation between the cure rate and duration of symptoms.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of the present study indicate that ITD injection plus alprazolam medication is the best treatment choice for acute SIT within 3 months of development.
authors: Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Eulji Hospital, Eulji University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. eardoc@eulji.ac.kr
authors: Hyun Joon
authors: HJ
authors: Shim
authors: Seong Jun
authors: SJ
authors: Song
authors: A Young
authors: AY
authors: Choi
authors: Rae
authors: R
authors: Hyung Lee
authors: Sang Won
authors: SW
authors: Yoon
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000284:Administration, Oral; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000525:Alprazolam / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D000527:Alprostadil / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003907:Dexamethasone / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015552:Injections, Intralesional; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012016:Reference Values; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014012:Tinnitus / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014432:Tympanic Membrane / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D003907:Dexamethasone; D000527:Alprostadil; D000525:Alprazolam