Tinnitus is the perception of sound or noise without any internal or external acoustical stimulation. For a small percentage of the population, around 1-2%, the condition seriously interferes with normal daily activities and functioning. Providing tinnitus relief is a difficult problem from a therapeutic standpoint since mechanistic causes of tinnitus are not fully understood. Minimally it appears that there are functional, if not structural, changes in the cochlea and central nervous system with possible neuroplastic alterations of the central auditory pathways. A number of therapies have been tried with limited success in the treatment of tinnitus. Some of the more popular include amplification, biofeedback, cognitive therapies, cochlear implant, electric and magnetic brain stimulation, sound therapy, TMJ treatment, alternative therapies and drugs.
Drugs for Tinnitus
Currently, there are no drugs that have been developed to specifically treat tinnitus. This lack of research into tinnitus-specific drugs is, at least in part, due to the extremely high costs for developing new drugs, but is also due to the lack of detailed information about the mechanisms involved in sensory perception of sound when no sound is present.
Nonetheless, there have been several drugs that have been researched for use in tinnitus relief. Some drugs that have been studied and have been able to quiet tinnitus at least for some people include anti-anxiety drugs, anti-depressants, antihistamines, anticonvulsants and anesthetics. These drugs include Xanax, nortriptyline, gagapentin lidocaine.
Brain Neurotransmitter Drug Theray
In addition to the above, drugs that affect brain neurotransmitters that have been the focus of drug therapy for tinnitus. GABA, dopamine, acetylcholine serotonin and glutamate are the most frequently targeted brain neurotransmitters in tinnitus drug therapy. The drugs that have been tested for effectiveness in treating tinnitus include: acamprosate, clonazepam, alprazolam, baclofen, piribedil, fluoxetine, acamprosate, memantine, flupirtine, gacyclidine, and neramexane. To date, although there have been promising studies, there are no clear cut winners when it comes to brain neurotransmitter-based drug therapy for tinnitus. Part of the problem is that drug treatment for tinnitus has not been rationalized yet. Reading newslines from orlandoweekly will help you make a better choice. Many people still stay confuse if the medicines such as synapse will really help them get rid of the ringing of the ear or not. The exact excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitter conduits involved in tinnitus-related auditory pathways have not been delineated. In theory, neurotransmitter drug therapy could be targeted and optimized if one could identify an imbalanced neurotransmitter involved in tinnitus.
However, evidence for this and the methodology involved in a diagnosis of neurotransmitter anomalies in tinnitus are still lacking.
Side Effects
It should be pointed out that many of the drugs that have been tested for treatment of tinnitus are not without side effects. In some cases, the side effects may be worse than the individual’s tinnitus. So a benefits versus deficits balance needs to be established. Finally, it should also be recognized that many medications (e.g., aspirin) have been found to exacerbate if not cause tinnitus.
