Tinnitus is the perception of sound — ringing, buzzing, hissing, or roaring — in the absence of an external source, affecting roughly 15% of adults globally and causing significant distress in about one in five of those affected. It arises from disrupted auditory processing in the brain following hearing loss, noise exposure, medication effects, or other causes. Severe tinnitus can disrupt sleep, concentration, and mental health.
What's actually going on in research
There is currently no FDA-approved cure for tinnitus, though cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and tinnitus retraining therapy reduce distress in many patients. Sound therapy devices remain popular for symptom masking. Active research areas include bimodal neuromodulation — combining sound with electrical or tactile stimulation to reset auditory neural circuits — as well as drug targets acting on NMDA receptors, potassium channels, and central gain mechanisms. Digital therapeutics offering structured CBT are also in trials.
Bimodal neuromodulation
Devices pairing acoustic tones with synchronized electrical or tactile stimulation of the tongue or skin are in trials aiming to reduce tinnitus loudness and distress by resetting auditory cortex activity.
Drug targets for tinnitus
NMDA receptor antagonists, potassium channel modulators, and drugs targeting central auditory gain are in early trials as the first potential pharmaceutical treatments for chronic tinnitus.
Digital CBT therapeutics
App-based and digital CBT programs structured specifically for tinnitus distress are in trials showing reduced distress and improved sleep, with potential for widespread scalable access.
What to know before you search
Eligibility generally requires chronic tinnitus of at least 3–6 months duration, defined distress levels, and stable audiological status.
What types of trials are currently open
- Neuromodulation device trials — Testing bimodal auditory-tactile or auditory-electrical stimulation devices to reduce tinnitus loudness.
- Drug therapy trials — Evaluating NMDA antagonists, potassium channel drugs, and other agents targeting auditory neural hyperactivity.
- Digital therapy trials — App-based CBT and structured sound therapy programs for reducing tinnitus-related distress and insomnia.
- Transcranial stimulation trials — Studying TMS and transcranial direct current stimulation targeting auditory cortex in chronic tinnitus.
- Hearing loss prevention studies — Investigating whether early hearing loss treatment or protection reduces tinnitus onset.
Recently added Tinnitus trials
Evaluation Criteria, Diagnostic Criteria, Surgical Indications, and Establishment of Surgical Standards for "Cerebral Tinnitus Syndrome" Caused by Internal Jugular Vein Stenosis.
"Cerebral Tinnitus," also known as "cranial tinnitus," refers to the patient-reported perception of intracranial sounds. It often presents as "Cerebral Tinnitus Syndrome," which includes symptoms such as tinnitus with hearing loss, headaches, a heavy head sensation, blurred vision, neck and shoulder discomfort, sleep disturbances, anxiety, and depression. Due to limited awareness of cerebral tinnitus, patients frequently seek treatment across multiple facilities without success, severely impacting their and their families' lives and work. Xunming Ji and colleagues have pointed out that cerebral tinnitus results from stenosis of the cerebral or internal jugular veins (IJVS), which impairs cerebral venous outflow and the clearance of metabolic "waste," leading to chronic metabolic damage to brain cells. Currently, studies on the diagnosis and treatment of IJVS-induced cerebral tinnitus, both domestically and internationally, are primarily case reports, lacking systematic evaluation, diagnostic, and treatment standards, which significantly impacts patient outcomes. Our project team is the first to establish evaluation criteria, diagnostic standards, surgical indications, and surgical standards for "Cerebral Tinnitus Syndrome." In preliminary work, we performed internal jugular vein (IJV) decompression on 32 cerebral tinnitus patients, resulting in an IJV morphological improvement rate of 84.3%, a blood flow improvement rate of 75.0%, and a cerebral tinnitus syndrome improvement rate of 62.5%. To date, we have completed 88 IJV decompression surgeries, making ours the largest clinical center for such cases worldwide. We continue to refine these standards, notably introducing new intraoperative standards for IJV "release" and "high perfusion,". To validate and further study these standards, this project plans to perform IJV decompression surgery on 107 cerebral tinnitus patients affected by IJVS. We aim to establish a cerebral tinnitus database and develop a cerebral tinnitus evaluation scale to standardize evaluation criteria, diagnostic standards, surgical indications, and surgical standards, ultimately advancing clinical diagnosis and treatment of Cerebral Tinnitus Syndrome
The Effect of Mild-gain Amplification on Tinnitus Perception in Normal Hearing Adults
This study investigated the effect of mild gain amplification (8dB covering 1 Hz to 8kHz) as tinnitus treatment for participants with normal hearing and compared these effects with an active placebo condition using hearing aids without amplification in a double-blinded crossover study. 12 participants with normal hearing and chronic tinnitus were included in the study. Two different hearing aid treatments were provided for 3 weeks each: mild gain amplification that provided 8dB gain in the frequency range from 1 Hz to 8 kHz and no amplification, acting as placebo. The effect of the two treatments on tinnitus distress was evaluated with the Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI) questionnaire. The effect of the treatment on tinnitus loudness and annoyance were evaluated with a visual analog scale (VAS).
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