Completed Commercial Lidocaine Patch as a Treatment for Ear-ringing

I know you're no young'un, Sleepless. Oy vey to your response . I'll stuff gefilte fish and halavah in an ear and see if that helps. I don't think that's going to make any more sense to folks on this thread (lol to that) than your sticking a patch on your bad sore ear. Ah, old cynics are we together and we're at the age where cynicism works just fine.

Man oh man, I hate having my photo taken now, unless I have a helmet on. It's not that I'm terrible-looking, it's the age thing. This is how I was and looked earlier in life and how family is and was. Some people don't care, I'm having trouble coming to terms with it. Maturing in corporate was fine but I used these things called hot curlers now and then (as I did when I was in high school and college, too) wore contacts, highlighted my hair and wore make-up then... but now make-up primarily rests peacefully where I have access and it won't melt.

Women where we are use makeup and still have their hair coiffed. I'd rather spend my money on my motorcycle and walk in the woods and get scratched by the briars. Both are more fun. Yeah to that.

 

I am with you on all of that aging stuff. Not fun! I hate my picture taken now lol.

I am still in corporate hanging on for another couple of years but all set with the whole clothing make up hair routine too. Rather be out with my dog enjoying nature.

Just for shi#s and giggles I put the patches all over my ears neck and jaw about an hour ago. I still hear the t but look mashugina!!! Oh well can't say I didn't try!

Awesome post.

 

Great that you're still be in corporate. Actually, mashugina works for me. I channel (not for real) my mom now and then - "Ah, baloney!" belongs to her.

You just became a guinea pig . Thanks for taking that role off me. Lidocaine patch issue remains mute.

We both hate having our photo taken and it seems strange but so is aging. Glad you're out there, Sleepless.

 

Don't usually post on here! I Have tried Lidocaine shots in neck muscles. Stopped T for exactly ONE glorious hour! I am sure mine is muscular, caused by stress and whiplash! 5 years ago, when T first started suddenly, I had lidocaine patches for a lumbar problem. Had the idea myself, back in 2010! I cut patches in pieces, then applied them behind my ear, in front of my ear and around back of neck! NOTHING. I would have eaten the patch if I thought it would help even a little. It is so sad, that the medical community takes advantage of pain, some of us desperate enough to try anything they might offer. Those patches don't help what they were originally made for, let alone something which may be coming from who knows where? I still have T. It is painfully loud most days. I say, ok well, just don't get worse, I can deal! It gets worse! I have stopped going to doctors. I refuse to be laughed at anymore. Literally! There is no help, no clinical trials that aren't a joke on the people going through this terrible affliction. And, No one can hear it but the sufferer, so they just don't get it, they just don't care.

 

I feel your lament. So much money in the gov. goes for war. They could find some relief but in their world they assume spend it on fascism. Forget the tens of millions in physical pain and mental anguish!

 

And the troops come back with tinnitus! Least they can do is fund a cure!

 

I totally agree. The gov. has no heart! Do the right thing find some real relief or a cure!
Hell Jeb Bush wants to privatize the VA. Further gov. lack of responsibility!

 

They have to pay out for disability for tinnitus, so makes no sense why they don't fund a cure to stop these disability pay-outs.

 

Hi, DB: I found the website of the government's that says (http://www.va.gov/health/NewsFeatures/20110524a.asp):

Tinnitus is the number one disability among Veterans and it affects at least one in every 10 American adults.

Some describe ringing sounds, a buzzing sound, a high-pitched whistle, or numerous other sounds. The causes and effects of tinnitus vary from individual to individual, so researchers at the National Center for Rehabilitative Auditory Research approached treatment options the same way.

“Because tinnitus has many causes, many of which are outside the audiology scope of practice, the approach to tinnitus should be interdisciplinary,” explained Dr. Paula Myers, Audiology Section Chief at the Tampa VA Hospital.

“Some of these services are performed by audiologists and some are referred to appropriate professionals. The goal is not to silence tinnitus, because there is no cure. Rather, the goal is for patients to learn to self-manage their reactions to the tinnitus.”

* * Key paragraph - last line. Also, there is no date on the article. This may no longer be the case. I read a forum of veterans only who complained about the lack of help by the U.S. government (no surprise and it's outrageous) for their tinnitus. It takes a lot of hoops to get classified for disability with T.

"Cures," especially with something so complex take a lot of money. We agreed there is no money to be made out of cures but there is a lot to be made out of treatment. Sorry but same ole' same ole'

 

Rubbish! Autifony are managing it and they've only been given what 1 million pound funding! Funny how the UK are doing something about it...Must be because we have a free healthcare system and the US doesn't.

 

Its a shame that the US gov. has underfunded Tinnitus. Yet television commercials galore for recruitment.
The UK , Korea or China will figure this one out!

 

Danny Boy and Ruben:
DB: Our country managing anything isn't for the people but for the companies. (Yep, Ruben, retire with what ... I am and it's still a question.) I don't know why the US is so frickin' anti helping anyone but the elite but that is the way it is. The US is low on so many lists including mortality rate, education, taking care of the seniors and it goes on ad nauseum. I wish I knew how to change the system but I don't. All I can do is complain about it because the grass is always greener - especially where Monsanto's been operating .

 

That's because in America everything is privatised. Anything that gets privatised gets abused for profit...In the UK, we know what happens when you privatise something.

 

I'm new here, but not new to Lidocaine. I have a very painful debilitating condition called CRPS (complex regional pain syndrome, some call it RSD, reflex sympathetic dystrophy or here in Europe it is referred to as Suduck's Dystrophy ) plus I have Tinnitus as a result of an allergic reaction to a medication meant to help my pain. It's a long story but to help me manage this pain condition I have been having systemic infusions of Lidocaine, 800 mg every month or so. I also use lidocaine patches on my lower limb where I have my pain. Mostly when I have the bolus of 100 mg lidocaine the T is silenced for a few glorious moments unfortunately it's very short lived. I will try the patch up higher but I'm not too hopeful given that I've been having these infusions for the past 10 years and now suffering a major deterioration in my hearing along with louder T.

 

Exclusion criteria : trauma cause???

 

Any updates on the study?

 

Study completed in February: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02088866?term=tinnitus&rank=53

No results posted, and too soon for a publication.

 

New over the counter Lidocaine patch: www.lidocare.com

Do you guys think it is worth trying?

 

any news on this?

 

I bought an over-the-counter lidocaine patch. I wanted to find out whether it could temporarily improve my tinnitus to allow me to fall asleep. Unfortunately, I see that lidocaine appears on the list of ototoxic drugs that can cause tinnitus.
http://www.nvrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Drugs-that-Cause-HL.pdf
So I guess I won't experiment with this patch, after all.

 

Has anyone here tried the OTC lidocaine patch?

 

https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02088866
Status: Still completed.
Study completion date: September 2015.

I did not find the results on the Net. So I sent an email on 03/08/2017 to the UC Davis Department of Otolaryngology to ask for the results.

 

Hate to rehash this post but it is research projects like this that reallly tick me off. Rather than finding ways to mask things, how about spending money on the cause!! While a appreciate this resource of course, the idea that topical lido could have any effect on a clearly internal condition is not something I would ever consider quality research.

 

I have tried lidocaine patches for serious surgical wounds and they do nothing topically. Nothing!

So how are the experts going to figure out the absorption rate from a patch for ear problems? Yikes!

 

Article released today. I think there are the results.

Transdermal lidocaine as treatment for chronic subjective tinnitus: A pilot study
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjoto.2019.03.009Get rights and content

Abstract
Objective
To assess the efficacy of transdermal lidocaine as a treatment for chronic subjective tinnitus as measured by the Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI).

Study design
Pilot, prospective efficacy trial.

Setting
Tertiary care hospital.

Patients
Men and women, over the age of 18 with chronic subjective tinnitus for >6 months.

Intervention
Daily application of commercially available transdermal lidocaine patch.

Outcome measure
Change in the TFI.

Results
The average pre-treatment TFI score was 56.2. After 1 month the average TFI decreased to 41 (p < 0.05). The scores dropped to 34 and 35 after 2 and 3 months of treatment respectively. Despite improvement in symptoms of tinnitus, most patients did not continue the study after the first month, dropping out due to the size, discomfort, and appearance of the lidocaine patch, failure to follow-up and lack of perceived benefit from treatment.

Conclusions
In this preliminary study, 5% transdermal lidocaine appears to be a potential treatment for chronic subjective tinnitus. The majority of subjects who completed 1 month of treatment had clinically significantly improved tinnitus. These findings are confounded however by the small sample size and significant drop out rate.

Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0196070919301796

 

Where did they put it?

 

Was there any control group for this study? Any sham/placebo group?

 

Wow, this is really interesting, maybe until new things get to the market this could be a good palliative option.

Does anyone know if this is going to hit the market? Or maybe an ENT can prescribe this if they are showed the results of this study?

When I go to the dentist and they put me on Lidocaine my tinnitus reduces significantly! There is definitely something with Lidocaine and tinnitus management.

 

I wouldn't trust that list; it cites no sources at all, and lidocaine has been widely explored as a treatment option for tinnitus. I've read a whole bunch of studies, don't remember seeing any cases where it made people's tinnitus worse; in general, when given IV, it makes it better or even go away completely, but the effect only lasts a day or two.

Lidocaine is bad for you in other ways which would prevent someone from wanting to IV it on a regular basis, though.

 

These are already commercially available. Look at "salonpas" on Amazon.