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 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 rank-test. 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.