Efficacy of Manual Therapy in the Treatment of Somatic Tinnitus

NCT06433895 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: E2-21-1003
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 31
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Somatic tinnitus is an unpleasant perception of sound that occurs in the absence of any external acoustic stimulus. Despite the correct diagnosis of somatic tinnitus, there is currently no specific treatment. The hypothesis of this study is that the application of manual therapy to the cervical region will help to treat tinnitus in patients. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of manual therapy in the treatment of somatic tinnitus of cervicogenic origin.

Conditions

Tinnitus, Subjective

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Visual Analogue Scale for Tinnitus (VAS-tinnitus)

  The severity of tinnitus will be graded using a 10 cm visual analogue scale (VAS, 0-10 cm; 0 means no tinnitus, 10 means extremely severe tinnitus).

  baseline- week 3 - week 6

Secondary Outcomes (10)

• Visual Analogue Scale for cervical pain (VAS-Cervical)

  baseline- week 3 - week 6

• Tinnitus Handicap Index (THI)

  baseline- week 3 - week 6

• Neck disability index (NDI)

  baseline- week 3 - week 6

• Cervical range of motion (ROM)

  baseline -week 3- week 6

• Manual muscle testing (MMT)

  baseline - week 3 -week 6

Study Arms (2)

Manual therapy + Exercise group

EXPERIMENTAL

Both groups will be instructed in the performance of isometric and strengthening exercises for the cervical region, which are provided to patients with cervical pain and limitation as a home programme for a six-week period. Additionally, patients in the manual therapy group will receive manual therapy on a weekly basis for a total of six sessions.

Other: Manual Therapy; Other: Exercise

Exercise group

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Both groups will be instructed in the performance of isometric and strengthening exercises for the cervical region, which are provided to patients with cervical pain and limitation as a home programme for a six-week period.

Other: Exercise

Interventions

Manual Therapy OTHER

Manual Therapy

Manual therapy + Exercise group

Exercise OTHER

Isometric and strengthening exercises for the cervical region, which are provided to patients with cervical pain and limitation

Exercise group; Manual therapy + Exercise group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 65 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Patients aged ≥ 18 and ≤ 65 years Patients fulfilling the clinical criteria4 defined for sevichogenic somatic tinnitus
• Neck pain
• Cervical joint range of motion limitation (especially rotation)
• Modulation of tinnitus in relation to head and neck movements and posture
• Tenderness in the cervico-occipital muscles Patients reporting cervical pain between \>2 and \<7 on a visual analogue scale (VAS) on most days of the last month Patients with stable medical and psychological status Patients willing to participate in the study

You may not qualify if:

• Objective tinnitus Subjective tinnitus with hearing loss Meniere's disease History of vertigo Middle ear pathologies History of intracranial pathology History of whiplash injury History of cervical spinal surgery History of active infection, malignancy, inflammatory rheumatic disease or fibromyalgia Pregnancy Patients who have undergone any exercise or physiotherapy programme for the cervical region in the last 3 months

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Gaziler Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Education and Research Hospital: lead

Study Sites (1)

Gaziler Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Educiation and Research Hospital

Ankara, Turkey (Türkiye)

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Atan D, Atan T, Cakir Agca BN, Guzelkucuk U. Effectiveness of manual therapy in the treatment of somatic tinnitus: a randomized controlled trial. Physiother Theory Pract. 2026 Mar 21:1-11. doi: 10.1080/09593985.2026.2647791. Online ahead of print.

  PMID: 41863305 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Tinnitus

Interventions

Musculoskeletal Manipulations; Exercise

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Hearing Disorders; Ear Diseases; Otorhinolaryngologic Diseases; Sensation Disorders; Neurologic Manifestations; Nervous System Diseases; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Complementary Therapies; Therapeutics; Physical Therapy Modalities; Rehabilitation; Motor Activity; Movement; Musculoskeletal Physiological Phenomena; Musculoskeletal and Neural Physiological Phenomena

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Assoc. Prof.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 23, 2024
• First Posted: May 30, 2024
• Study Start: May 25, 2024
• Primary Completion: June 25, 2025
• Study Completion: June 25, 2025
• Last Updated: February 17, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-02

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

TU (1)