Evaluation of tinnitus patients by peroral multi-drug treatment

To evaluate patients complaining of subjective tinnitus, this study examined their response to peroral betahistine mesilate, vitamin B complex and diazepam in combination. Because three drugs were used together, it remains to be seen whether a single drug or a combination of drugs was effective. We issued questionnaires to 67 patients with tinnitus associated with sensorineural hearing loss of unknown etiology or tinnitus, despite normal hearing in pure tone audiometry and lack of distinct systemic disorders. Our original questionnaire contained seven items and allotted points for each item to facilitate evaluation. After prescribing the above drugs and observing patients’ progress for 5 weeks, 50 of the 67 subjects were evaluated again by the same questionnaire. The present study evaluates tinnitus of patients as an example of clinical applications; this was not a controlled double blind study. It was found that, after patients took the prescribed medication, the total number of points were significantly reduced (paired t-test, P<0.001). After medication, cases of bilateral tinnitus were significantly reduced from 27 to 14, and cases of two types of tinnitus sound, were significantly decreased from 22 to 11 (χ2-test, P<0.05). After 5 weeks of administration, 54% of patients felt treatment had been effective. Preliminary results suggest this peroral multi-drug treatment may provide relief for some patients with subjective tinnitus. However, long-term efficacy of the treatment was not investigated.