NCT01575496

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) for the Treatment of Tinnitus

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) for the Treatment of Chronic Subjective Tinnitus

• Status: Unknown
• Phase: Phase 2
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 40 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The purpose of this study is to determine if repeated sessions of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) are effective for treating chronic subjective tinnitus. Previous studies have reported brief improvements in tinnitus after safe and noninvasive stimulation of the auditory cortex or limbic system. The investigators hypothesize that a greater improvement in tinnitus will be achieved following repeated sessions of tDCS that target both auditory and limbic systems.

Detailed description

Subjective tinnitus is a distressing condition characterized by the sensation of sound or noise in the absence of internal or external stimuli. Research indicates that tinnitus may develop due to maladaptive plastic changes in the auditory cortex and limbic system. These changes can be targeted using safe and noninvasive brain stimulation techniques like transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). TDCS alters the excitability of the cortex using a weak direct current and may lead to long-term plastic changes, making it a potential therapeutic tool for the treatment of tinnitus. Transient improvements in tinnitus have been reported after inhibitory stimulation of the auditory cortex and after excitatory stimulation of the prefrontal cortex, however the effects of a combined stimulation paradigm remain unknown. The investigators hypothesize that a cumulative effect will be observed following repeated sessions of tDCS by modulating both the excitability of the auditory cortex and prefrontal cortex.

Conditions

• Tinnitus

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	BrainSTIM Transcranial Stimulator	Cathodal stimulation of the auditory cortex with an anode (reference electrode) over the prefrontal cortex. Stimulation will be applied for 20 minutes at 2 mA.
DEVICE	BrainSTIM Transcranial Stimulator	Sham tDCS sessions will last 20 minutes.

Timeline

• Start date: 2012-04-01
• Primary completion: 2015-01-01
• First posted: 2012-04-11
• Last updated: 2012-08-03

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Switzerland