NCT05964725

Brief Summary

This clinical study is prospective, single-center, randomized, controlled, double-blind clinical trail, which entitled transcranial electrical stimulation for the treatment of acute tinnitus approved by Sun Yat-sen University, and intends to recruit 86 patients with sudden deafness and tinnitus. For acute subjective tinnitus, a common otological disease, the study gave the experimental group patients received tDCS with electrodes positioned over the left temporal cortex for 5 days. To assess the efficacy of conventional medical therapy and tDCS by comparing changes in anterior and posterior tinnitus-related subjective scale scores, such as THI, VAS, BAI, BDI, PSQI, and hearing recovery, in patients who received tDCS, to determine whether tDCS is effective in improving acute tinnitus, and whether it is superior to conventional tinnitus treatment. In addition, the study will continue to follow patients for 1 month,3 months, and 6 months after the end of treatment to observe the long-term sustained efficacy of tDCS. This clinical trail will also evaluate tDCS from the perspective of compliance and safety, and explore the factors affecting the efficacy of this therapy.

Trial Health

43
At Risk

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Trial has exceeded expected completion date
Enrollment
86

participants targeted

Target at P50-P75 for not_applicable

Timeline
Completed

Started Nov 2023

Shorter than P25 for not_applicable

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

Status
unknown

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

July 16, 2023

Completed
12 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

July 28, 2023

Completed
4 months until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

November 23, 2023

Completed
9 months until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

August 30, 2024

Completed
Same day until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

August 30, 2024

Completed
Last Updated

November 27, 2023

Status Verified

November 1, 2023

Enrollment Period

9 months

First QC Date

July 16, 2023

Last Update Submit

November 22, 2023

Conditions

Keywords

Acute subjective tinnitusClinical trialTranscranial Direct Current Stimulation

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Changes in Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) scores for short-term efficacy assessment

    Difference in the change of THI scores between two groups after 5 days treatment. The THI evaluates the severity of tinnitus in terms of emotion and function. The global scores of THI range from 0 (no disability) to 100 (serve disability).

    From baseline to after 5 days treatment

Secondary Outcomes (14)

  • Changes in scores of Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for short-term efficacy assessment

    From baseline to after 5 days treatment

  • Changes in scores of Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) for short-term efficacy assessment

    From baseline to after 5 days treatment

  • Changes in scores of Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) for short-term efficacy assessment

    From baseline to after 5 days treatment

  • Changes in scores of Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) for short-term efficacy assessment

    From baseline to after 5 days treatment

  • Changes of Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) scores in the two groups for long-term efficacy assessment

    From 1-month follow-up visit to 6-month follow-up visit

  • +9 more secondary outcomes

Other Outcomes (1)

  • Incidence of treatment-related adverse events

    From baseline to 6-month follow-up visit

Study Arms (2)

Receive traditional medical therapy and transcranial direct current stimulation

EXPERIMENTAL

intravenous methylprednisolone infusion (dose of 1 mg/kg/day, maximum 60 mg/day) for 5 to 10 days. Patients included in this study were routinely examined and tested for audiometry, including otoscopy, pure tone audiometry, acoustic impedance, brainstem evoked potential, and tinnitus detection. After completion, the 32-guide EEG collector from Bricon was used to collect changes in neural activity in all subjects.

Device: Receive traditional medical therapy and transcranial direct current stimulation

Receive traditional medical therapy and sham stimulation

SHAM COMPARATOR

Similarly, intravenous methylprednisolone infusion (dose of 1 mg/kg/day, maximum 60 mg/day) for 5 to 10 days. By controlling the tDCS stimulator to mimic only the first 30 seconds of tDCS stimulation, after 30 seconds of pathway resistance control, so that the stimulation intensity is below the threshold, without giving real stimulation, in this process, the position of the stimulation target is not changed, and the rest of the operation is the same.

Device: Receive traditional medical therapy and sham stimulation

Interventions

Equipment used: Bricon tDCS stimulator, high-precision electrode stimulation method Stimulant dose: 1.5mA Stimulation time: 20 minutes/time, continuous treatment for 5 days Stimulation course: 5 days/course Stimulation target: left auditory cortex area, i.e., under system 10-20, left T3 position.

Receive traditional medical therapy and transcranial direct current stimulation

By controlling the tDCS stimulator to mimic only the first 30 seconds of tDCS stimulation, after 30 seconds of pathway resistance control, so that the stimulation intensity is below the threshold, without giving real stimulation, in this process, the position of the stimulation target is not changed, and the rest of the operation is the same.

Receive traditional medical therapy and sham stimulation

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years - 60 Years
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersNo
Age GroupsAdult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

  • Patients with tinnitus as the main complaint: patients subjectively feel sound in the ear or deep part of the head without internal or external sound stimulation, with or without hearing loss, and seek medical treatment
  • Patients with sudden deafness with tinnitus whose course is less than 1 month and have not received any drug treatment
  • Age 18-60 years
  • Tinnitus frequency is 125-8000 Hz

You may not qualify if:

  • Patients with conductive deafness, history of middle ear surgery, pulsatile tinnitus caused by vascular aberration and tinnitus cause by Meniere disease
  • History of head trauma, central nervous system disease, mental disease, and drug abuse

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital

Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510120, China

RECRUITING

Related Publications (19)

  • Chandrasekhar SS, Tsai Do BS, Schwartz SR, Bontempo LJ, Faucett EA, Finestone SA, Hollingsworth DB, Kelley DM, Kmucha ST, Moonis G, Poling GL, Roberts JK, Stachler RJ, Zeitler DM, Corrigan MD, Nnacheta LC, Satterfield L. Clinical Practice Guideline: Sudden Hearing Loss (Update). Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2019 Aug;161(1_suppl):S1-S45. doi: 10.1177/0194599819859885.

    PMID: 31369359BACKGROUND
  • Rah YC, Park KT, Yi YJ, Seok J, Kang SI, Kim YH. Successful treatment of sudden sensorineural hearing loss assures improvement of accompanying tinnitus. Laryngoscope. 2015 Jun;125(6):1433-7. doi: 10.1002/lary.25074. Epub 2014 Dec 4.

    PMID: 25476777BACKGROUND
  • Klemm E, Bepperling F, Burschka MA, Mosges R; Study Group. Hemodilution therapy with hydroxyethyl starch solution (130/0.4) in unilateral idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss: a dose-finding, double-blind, placebo-controlled, international multicenter trial with 210 patients. Otol Neurotol. 2007 Feb;28(2):157-70. doi: 10.1097/01.mao.0000231502.54157.ad.

    PMID: 17255882BACKGROUND
  • Westerlaken BO, de Kleine E, van der Laan B, Albers F. The treatment of idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss using pulse therapy: a prospective, randomized, double-blind clinical trial. Laryngoscope. 2007 Apr;117(4):684-90. doi: 10.1097/mlg.0b013e3180316d3b.

    PMID: 17415139BACKGROUND
  • Zhou GP, Chen YC, Li WW, Wei HL, Yu YS, Zhou QQ, Yin X, Tao YJ, Zhang H. Aberrant functional and effective connectivity of the frontostriatal network in unilateral acute tinnitus patients with hearing loss. Brain Imaging Behav. 2022 Feb;16(1):151-160. doi: 10.1007/s11682-021-00486-9. Epub 2021 Jul 23.

    PMID: 34296381BACKGROUND
  • Aldhafeeri FM, Mackenzie I, Kay T, Alghamdi J, Sluming V. Neuroanatomical correlates of tinnitus revealed by cortical thickness analysis and diffusion tensor imaging. Neuroradiology. 2012 Aug;54(8):883-92. doi: 10.1007/s00234-012-1044-6. Epub 2012 May 22.

    PMID: 22614806BACKGROUND
  • Cai Y, Xie M, Su Y, Tong Z, Wu X, Xu W, Li J, Zhao F, Dang C, Chen G, Lan L, Shen J, Zheng Y. Aberrant Functional and Causal Connectivity in Acute Tinnitus With Sensorineural Hearing Loss. Front Neurosci. 2020 Jun 30;14:592. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2020.00592. eCollection 2020.

    PMID: 32714128BACKGROUND
  • Lefaucheur JP, Antal A, Ayache SS, Benninger DH, Brunelin J, Cogiamanian F, Cotelli M, De Ridder D, Ferrucci R, Langguth B, Marangolo P, Mylius V, Nitsche MA, Padberg F, Palm U, Poulet E, Priori A, Rossi S, Schecklmann M, Vanneste S, Ziemann U, Garcia-Larrea L, Paulus W. Evidence-based guidelines on the therapeutic use of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Clin Neurophysiol. 2017 Jan;128(1):56-92. doi: 10.1016/j.clinph.2016.10.087. Epub 2016 Oct 29.

    PMID: 27866120BACKGROUND
  • Teismann H, Wollbrink A, Okamoto H, Schlaug G, Rudack C, Pantev C. Combining transcranial direct current stimulation and tailor-made notched music training to decrease tinnitus-related distress--a pilot study. PLoS One. 2014 Feb 25;9(2):e89904. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0089904. eCollection 2014.

    PMID: 24587113BACKGROUND
  • Pal N, Maire R, Stephan MA, Herrmann FR, Benninger DH. Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation for the Treatment of Chronic Tinnitus: A Randomized Controlled Study. Brain Stimul. 2015 Nov-Dec;8(6):1101-7. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2015.06.014. Epub 2015 Jun 27.

    PMID: 26198363BACKGROUND
  • Vanneste S, De Ridder D. Bifrontal transcranial direct current stimulation modulates tinnitus intensity and tinnitus-distress-related brain activity. Eur J Neurosci. 2011 Aug;34(4):605-14. doi: 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2011.07778.x. Epub 2011 Jul 25.

    PMID: 21790807BACKGROUND
  • Vanneste S, Plazier M, Ost J, van der Loo E, Van de Heyning P, De Ridder D. Bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex modulation for tinnitus by transcranial direct current stimulation: a preliminary clinical study. Exp Brain Res. 2010 May;202(4):779-85. doi: 10.1007/s00221-010-2183-9. Epub 2010 Feb 26.

    PMID: 20186404BACKGROUND
  • Vanneste S, Focquaert F, Van de Heyning P, De Ridder D. Different resting state brain activity and functional connectivity in patients who respond and not respond to bifrontal tDCS for tinnitus suppression. Exp Brain Res. 2011 Apr;210(2):217-27. doi: 10.1007/s00221-011-2617-z. Epub 2011 Mar 25.

    PMID: 21437634BACKGROUND
  • Faber M, Vanneste S, Fregni F, De Ridder D. Top down prefrontal affective modulation of tinnitus with multiple sessions of tDCS of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Brain Stimul. 2012 Oct;5(4):492-8. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2011.09.003. Epub 2011 Oct 5.

    PMID: 22019079BACKGROUND
  • Frank E, Schecklmann M, Landgrebe M, Burger J, Kreuzer P, Poeppl TB, Kleinjung T, Hajak G, Langguth B. Treatment of chronic tinnitus with repeated sessions of prefrontal transcranial direct current stimulation: outcomes from an open-label pilot study. J Neurol. 2012 Feb;259(2):327-33. doi: 10.1007/s00415-011-6189-4. Epub 2011 Aug 2.

    PMID: 21808984BACKGROUND
  • Vanneste S, Langguth B, De Ridder D. Do tDCS and TMS influence tinnitus transiently via a direct cortical and indirect somatosensory modulating effect? A combined TMS-tDCS and TENS study. Brain Stimul. 2011 Oct;4(4):242-52. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2010.12.001. Epub 2011 Jan 1.

    PMID: 22032739BACKGROUND
  • Yakunina N, Nam EC. Direct and Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Treatment of Tinnitus: A Scoping Review. Front Neurosci. 2021 May 28;15:680590. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2021.680590. eCollection 2021.

    PMID: 34122002BACKGROUND
  • Gordon PC, Zrenner C, Desideri D, Belardinelli P, Zrenner B, Brunoni AR, Ziemann U. Modulation of cortical responses by transcranial direct current stimulation of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex: A resting-state EEG and TMS-EEG study. Brain Stimul. 2018 Sep-Oct;11(5):1024-1032. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2018.06.004. Epub 2018 Jun 18.

    PMID: 29921529BACKGROUND
  • Joos K, De Ridder D, Van de Heyning P, Vanneste S. Polarity specific suppression effects of transcranial direct current stimulation for tinnitus. Neural Plast. 2014;2014:930860. doi: 10.1155/2014/930860. Epub 2014 Apr 10.

    PMID: 24812586BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

TinnitusHearing Loss, Sudden

Interventions

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Hearing DisordersEar DiseasesOtorhinolaryngologic DiseasesSensation DisordersNeurologic ManifestationsNervous System DiseasesSigns and SymptomsPathological Conditions, Signs and SymptomsHearing Loss

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Electric Stimulation TherapyTherapeuticsConvulsive TherapyPsychiatric Somatic TherapiesBehavioral Disciplines and ActivitiesElectroshockPsychological Techniques

Study Officials

  • Yuexin Cai, Doctor

    Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Yuexin Cai, Doctor

CONTACT

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
QUADRUPLE
Who Masked
PARTICIPANT, CARE PROVIDER, INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
Masking Details
In the whole clinical research process, the subjects and researchers participating in the efficacy and safety evaluation should be in a blind state, that is, neither of them knows the specific intervention measures given to the subjects. For participant, the treatment equipment is exactly the same between the two groups. Also, 10 seconds sham stimulation at the beginning of treatment is set in the control group for minimizing risk of participants being able to guess treatment allocation. The randomized allocation is completed by a unified randomization center. Therefore, the investigators in each center just know "A" or "B" for the allocation information of each participant. For outcomes assessors, they are only responsible for baseline and follow-up assessment during the study.
Purpose
TREATMENT
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Model Details: Participants in the included studies were randomized 1:1 by statisticians. The statistician will number the subjects using a computer-generated random number table, then arrange them in order of number size, and then randomly divide the subjects into random blocks of length 2 or 4 to complete the randomization.
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

July 16, 2023

First Posted

July 28, 2023

Study Start

November 23, 2023

Primary Completion

August 30, 2024

Study Completion

August 30, 2024

Last Updated

November 27, 2023

Record last verified: 2023-11

Locations