Completed

Effectiveness of Combined Frontal and Temporal Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) in Patients With Chronic Tinnitus

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What is being tested

rTMS - Intervention 1

+ rTMS - Intervention 2

Device
Who is being recruted

Ear Diseases+6

+ Hearing Disorders

+ Nervous System Diseases

Over 18 Years
+14 Eligibility Criteria
See all eligibility criteria
How is the trial designed

Treatment Study

Interventional
Study Start: April 2009
See protocol details

Summary

Principal SponsorUniversity of Regensburg
Last updated: January 27, 2026
Sourced from a government-validated database.Claim as a partner

Study start date: April 1, 2009

Actual date on which the first participant was enrolled.

Tinnitus is the phantom auditory perception of sound in the absence of an external or internal acoustic stimulus. It is a frequent problem which can interfere significantly with the ability to lead a normal life. Treatment is difficult. Most available therapies focus on habituation rather than treating the cause. Tinnitus is thought to be generated in the brain, as a result of functional reorganization of auditory neural pathways and tonotopic maps in the central auditory system, following damage to the peripheral auditory system. Low-frequency rTMS has been investigated for the treatment of hyperexcitability disorders such as auditory hallucinations and tinnitus. Pilot data indicate that the beneficial effect of low-frequency rTMS can be enhanced by high frequency rTMS of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). In the proposed study we investigate whether high frequency rTMS of the DLPFC improves therapeutic efficacy of low-frequency rTMS on tinnitus in a controlled trial.

Official TitleEffectiveness of Combined Frontal and Temporal Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) in Patients With Chronic Tinnitus
NCT00876720
Principal SponsorUniversity of Regensburg
Last updated: January 27, 2026
Sourced from a government-validated database.Claim as a partner

Protocol

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.
Design Details

100 patients to be enrolled

Total number of participants that the clinical trial aims to recruit.

Treatment Study

These studies test new ways to treat a disease, condition, or health issue. The goal is to see if a new drug, therapy, or approach works better or has fewer side effects than existing options.



Eligibility

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria: person's general health condition or prior treatments.
Conditions
Criteria

Any sex

Biological sex of participants that are eligible to enroll.

Over 18 Years

Range of ages for which participants are eligible to join.

Healthy volunteers not allowed

If individuals who are healthy and do not have the condition being studied can participate.

Conditions

Pathology

Ear DiseasesHearing DisordersNervous System DiseasesNeurologic ManifestationsOtorhinolaryngologic DiseasesSensation DisordersSigns and SymptomsPathological Conditions, Signs and SymptomsTinnitus

Criteria

2 inclusion criteria required to participate
Duration of tinnitus more than 3 months

Diagnosis of subjective chronic tinnitus

12 exclusion criteria prevent from participating
Objective tinnitus

Treatable cause of the tinnitus

Involvement in other treatments for tinnitus at the same time

Clinically relevant psychiatric comorbidity

Show More Criteria

Study Plan

Find out more about all the medication administered in this study, their detailed description and what they involve.
Treatment Groups
Study Objectives

2 intervention groups are designated in this study

This study does not include a placebo group 

Treatment Groups

Group I

Experimental
Combined frontal and temporal transcranial magnetic stimulation

Group II

Experimental
Temporal transcranial magnetic stimulation

Study Objectives

Primary Objectives

Study Centers

These are the hospitals, clinics, or research facilities where the trial is being conducted. You can find the location closest to you and its status.

This study has 1 location

Suspended

University of Regensburg - Dept of Psychiatry

Regensburg, GermanyOpen University of Regensburg - Dept of Psychiatry in Google Maps
CompletedOne Study Center