Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for tinnitus: influence of loudness and frequency of tinnitus on tinnitus suppression

Tinnitus is a distressing symptom for which few treatments exist. Low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the temporal cortex has been proposed as a treatment for chronic tinnitus. This study determined relationship between psychoacoustic parameters such as loudness and frequency of tinnitus and outcome with rTMS treatment.
Twenty six patients (22 male, 4 female) with chronic tinnitus received low frequency (1 Hz) rTMS at intensity 110% motor thre­shold and 1200 stimuli on three subsequent days to the left auditory cortex. The treatment out­come was assessed with loudness balance test and Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI).
There was a significant difference between loudness of tinnitus and THI scores before and after rTMS. There was no correlation between psychoacoustic parameters loudness and frequency of tinnitus and rTMS treatment outcome.
Our data suggest that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, regardless of loudness and frequency of tinnitus, can be used as a therapeutical tool for the treatment of tinnitus.