Effect of a 4-Week Treatment with Cilostazol in Patients with Chronic Tinnitus

J Int Adv Otol. 2016 Aug;12(2):170-176. doi: 10.5152/iao.2016.2682.
Effect of a 4-Week Treatment with Cilostazol in Patients with Chronic Tinnitus: A Randomized, Prospective, Placebo-controlled, Double-blind, Pilot Study.

Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
The aim of this prospective, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study was to evaluate the efficacy of cilostazol, a selective phosphodiesterase 3 inhibitor, in patients with chronic tinnitus.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:
Adult patients of chronic tinnitus lasting more than 3 months were included. Fifty eligible patients were randomly assigned to either cilostazol or control (placebo) group. The study medication of oral 100-mg cilostazol and a matching placebo were used twice a day for 4 weeks. Subjective tinnitus severity was evaluated using the visual analog scale (VAS), tinnitus handicap inventory (THI), and Short-Form 36 health survey (SF-36) at baseline and at 2 and 4 weeks after study initiation. Changes in tinnitus pitch and loudness matching values were also analyzed.

RESULTS:
The improvement range in the VAS score was significantly greater in the cilostazol group than in the placebo group after 4 weeks' administration of cilostazol. The SF-36 subscales also showed improvement in quality of life in the physical component summary subscale, the aggregate subscale of the physical category. There were no significant improvements in the cilostazol group compared to the placebo group in the THI subscales and tinnitus characteristics of pitch and loudness matching values. Various degrees of headaches were experienced by 68% of patients in the cilostazol group.

CONCLUSION:
A 4-week administration of oral cilostazol in patients with chronic tinnitus may mitigate the severity of subjective tinnitus

 

Any way any of us can get a hold of this stuff?

 

I would see your GP and ask for it off label, you have the proof, so just show them.

 

This medication changes the perception of tinnitus? Would improvement continue when/if the user stopped taking the drug? Or would it go back to the way it was before?

 

You won't truly know until you try it for yourself. I hope it does help, truly. Happy holidays and best wishes Danny Boy.

 

Its says thats it did not change the pitch or loudness of T .. If I read this right

 

This is interesting because it's a vasodilator vs cocaine which is the vasoconstrictor - I have read posts on here that cocaine was aggravating to tinnitus. This may back reasoning as to why Cilostazol may be a viable treatment.

 

The definition of 'mitigate' is, "make (something bad) less severe, serious, or painful." It's basically saying it may lessen the severity, from the conclusion .

 

Ok the patients Were less bothered by T even though T didn't change at all
So this drug works on how they reacted to T.
Anyway, this is interesting not sure if this may be a long term Treatment given the side effects but who knows

 

If all a drug is doing is making patients "less bothered with T" or changing "how they react to it" without changing the volume/pitch/effect/affect or existence of T, than one could assume that a whole bunch of drugs both legal and illegal would be equally effective. I imagine someone nodding on heroin would be less bothered by their T, that doesn't make it a viable treatment route. Man tinnitus studies are frustrating sometimes.

 

It's great this was double blind and randomised, but how many patients were in this study?!! I would also argue that perhaps Ginko Bioloba would be effective in patients that Cilostazol is effective with.