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Low-level laser for treatment of tinnitus: a self-controlled clinical trial

BACKGROUND: Despite the high prevalence and morbidity, tinnitus still remains an obscure symptom. We assessed the efficacy of low-level laser for treatment of tinnitus. METHODS: It was a self controlled clinical trial study on 61 outpatients with subjective tinnitus. The patients were irradiated wit...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Okhovat, Ahmadreza, Berjis, Nezamoddin, Okhovat, Hoda, Malekpour, Afsaneh, Abtahi, Hamidreza
Formato: Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Medknow Publications & Media Pvt Ltd 2011
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3063436/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21448380
Descripción
Sumario:BACKGROUND: Despite the high prevalence and morbidity, tinnitus still remains an obscure symptom. We assessed the efficacy of low-level laser for treatment of tinnitus. METHODS: It was a self controlled clinical trial study on 61 outpatients with subjective tinnitus. The patients were irradiated with a 650-nm, 5-mW soft laser for twenty days and twenty minutes per day. The sensation of tinnitus was measured on a Visual Analog Scale (VAS) before and two weeks after treatment and they were compared by means of Wilcoxon signed ranktest. RESULTS: Thirty-eight (62.3%) patients were men and twenty-three (37.7%) were women. Fourteen patients (31.8%) worked in noisy environment. The VAS mean difference before and after the treatment was statistically significant (p < 0.0001). The best treatment effect was in the youngest group and there were significant differences between this group and the middle age and older groups (p = 0.018 and 0.001, respectively). The mean VAS score reduction was not statistically significant between male and female patients (p = 0.23). Also, the treatment outcome according to the noise level in patient's workplaces was not significantly different in women (p = 0.693), but it was significant in men (p = 0.029). CONCLUSIONS: Transmeatal low-level laser irradiation is effective for the treatment of tinnitus and some variables like age and job can affect the treatment outcome.