Lidocaine Neck Patch Silences Ear Ringing Agony of Tinnitus (DailyMail / March 30, 2019)

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/...atch-silences-ear-ringing-agony-tinnitus.html

Neck patch silences ear ringing agony of tinnitus

A patch of ‘skin’ worn on the back of the neck could banish annoying ringing in the ears, according to new research.

Experts at the University of West Virginia in the US tested the idea on dozens of men and women suffering from the condition tinnitus, which causes the incessant ringing.

Each wore a patch containing lidocaine – a local anesthetic often used by dentists – on the base of the skull for up to three months, applying a new patch daily. The results, published in the American Journal Of Otolaryngology, showed that most saw a significant reduction in ringing after just a month, with even better results after two and three months.



US researchers have been testing tinnitus sufferers with patches containing lidocaine - a local anesthetic often used by dentists - on the base of the skull for three months. The user would change the patch on a daily basis

It’s not clear why lidocaine has this impact on ringing in the ears.

But if further studies confirm the benefits, it could be a huge relief for the UK’s five million tinnitus sufferers – some of whom can end up suicidal due to the unremitting, round-the-clock ear noise.

 

Very bizarre to see that something so simple had such an effect. Hope they will release more info. At least if it works maybe it can open doors to more research in the pathway of relief.

Seems too simple and random to be true

 

Over on FaceAche someone has posted an article that's in today's DailyMail on Sunday about a study in the University of West Virginia of Lidocaine patches worn daily on the back of the neck for tinnitus.

Good results apparently.

I always enjoy a trip to the Dentist for a shot as it silences my tinnitus.

Anyone know of this trial?

 

New research apparently showed improvements in people’s tinnitus after they used lidocaine patches, daily, for up to 3 months:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/...atch-silences-ear-ringing-agony-tinnitus.html

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0196070919301796?dgcid=rss_sd_all

However, it’s a small sample size and there was a significant drop out rate.

 

Where is the data that shows lidocaine is absorbed from the patch, thru skin and into the bloodstream? What blood levels are associated with tinnitus reduction? That would be an easy dose response study to do in the sense lidocaine could be administered intravenously in various doses.

The effect of lidocaine is known to be short-lived because its enzymatically changed in the liver and blood. The skin can metabolize substances as well, but not as extensively as the liver.

TC

 

Interesting. I saw this tactile earlier also. Would love to see the test results etc..

 

Not having something that works and that can be used as the gold standard must be a real challenge in tinnitus research.

Supposedly lidocaine comes the closest, but even Prof. Rauschecker has referenced old literature, so it may amount to anecdotal support. There's another thread about it and his abstract from a past TRI conference. Perhaps we can ask him about lidocaine at some point. TC.

 

All good points. There must be some data somewhere that addresses this.

 

Maybe I read this wrong but isn’t the article referring to potential new studies/tests and not referencing old?

 

The fact that this manufacturer put lidocaine in a patch suggests there is some science backing it. I believe there is a plausible mechanism for how lidocaine would work, it blocks sodium channels and lows or blocks nerve transmission. The influx of sodium into a nerve cell is the first step in generating an action potential. But the action of lidocaine is non-specific.

OK , time for me to go to church. Later- TC.

 

Here’s another study of lidocaine patches on tinnitus that had an estimated finishing date of Feb 2019. Here’s an excerpt:

each participant will undergo blood test. the participant's group that start the trial with the lidoderm patch and later will use the tegaderm patch will have 2 blood tests for werum lidocain level test. the group that start the trial with the tegaderm patch and later the lidoderm patch will have only one blood test measuring lidocaine serum level.

the tubes containing the serum will be shipped abroad via an international medical cargo company for lidocaine levels tests.


Ages Eligible for Study:

18 Years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Sexes Eligible for Study:

All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers:

No

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

• mature (above 18 years old) patients that suffer at least 1 year of tinnitus (unilateral/bilateral

Exclusion Criteria:

• Intermittent/ fluctuative type of tinnitus
• patients that are treated for tinnitus( psychological treatment, hearing aid, drugs, sound generator) or were treated in the last month
• sensitivity to amide anaesthetic
• known hepatic failure
• usage of antiarrhythmic drugs of type 1
• history of seizures
• pregnancy/ lactating
• dermatologic problems in the back
• any patients that develops during the trial local/ systemic symptoms such as rash, pain, itching, fever, nervousness,palpitations will be omitted from the study
• beck depression score of >21
• MMSE test <24

https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02750969#contacts

I’m not sure if this is the same study as the one mentioned in the news article (posted below) - as the completion date is listed as 2015 - but one of the authors is the same (Rodney Diaz). I haven’t got time to read through in detail to see if it is the same or not, but I’d assume that either it is and it took a while to publish, or another study was done prior to the one mentioned in the news article.

https://www.smartpatients.com/trials/NCT02088866

 

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

 

There doesn't seem to be a placebo control in the trial. Achieving statistically significant change from baseline is very easy to do when the outcome measured is subjective, like the TFI. People get better when they are being measured, its called the Hawthorne effect.

So, yeah maybe another study is appropriate and maybe not. I'd say this study was inconclusive. The fact that many dropped out for lack of effect is telling.

TC

 

Interesting nonetheless.

Wasn't Dr. Josef Rauschecker studying this?

 

Sooo should we all buy lidocaine patches and start slapping them on for 12 hours a day and see if it works? We'd have a greater number of participants than the study lol..

 

I had a neck injection within the past year that had lidocaine in it that seemed to knock out my tinnitus for about 2 hours. I thought @Greg Sacramento said that lidocaine was bad for certain body organs?

If a lidocaine patch would work that would be great.

 

Don't they sell the 4% lidocaine patches in stores now... What makes these patches in the clinical trial different?

 

@nills good looks on finding this, I hope all is well with you.

What's interesting is that I had experimented with this, but certainly NEVER for more than, I dunno, a few days in a row -- expecting a more immediate effect. It sounds like it took a month to see the effect in this study. That makes me want to take a crack at doing it for longer. 4% lidocaine transdermal patches are around $1-1.50 a pop over the counter in the US.

 

Lidocaine can impair iron transport and probably do other bad things but I would be surprised if using OTC transdermal patches for a month is toeing the danger line.

 

Published March 30th, 2019:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/...atch-silences-ear-ringing-agony-tinnitus.html

I'm curious to hear people's thoughts. I've read at least one story in the past about a doctor injecting tinnitus patients in the jaw with some kind of numbing agent, as a means of determining whether the tinnitus might be caused by TMJ.

 

Lidocaine is on the ototoxic medications list...

 

I just read a study where people suffering from muscle pain used these patches continuously for 5+ years with no significant ill effects. It appears to be reasonably safe. I'm heading to CVS today and committing to 2 months worth of these.

 

I think the prescription patches are typically 5%. Not a significant difference. I thought I was going to have to convince my PCP to prescribe these off label but now I can can just go to the store and buy them. My insurance OTC card even covers it so it's free. I can't believe we finally caught a break.

 

Where was the lidocaine used? Somewhere on the body = systemic effect or somewhere near the ear/trigger points = local effect?

 

The article states they were applied to the "base of the skull for up to three months, applying a new patch daily"

 

Lidocaine 4% pain relief cream has been available for a number of years. My husband used it often on the skin pre-IV with great success so I know it can be effectively absorbed, just not very deeply was my understanding. I just rubbed some on the back of my neck/skull. This is an easy one to try out for everyone. An OTC patch or cream should give some indication.

 

Cautionary Note on Lidocaine:

Several years ago I read up on the dangers of lidocaine and other dental anesthetics. It was often mentioned how one shot was equal to a certain number of cigarettes. I just did a quick search, and came up with the following:

Past Dental Anesthetics Linked to Cancer
August 8, 2012Stephen A. LawrenceHolistic Dentistry, News10 comments

1 Dental Shot = 84,000 cigarettes!

In 1997, after extensive research, reports state that all local anesthetics approved for use in the United States broke down into anilines. [BPNL, 13 (6), Nov. 1997]. This research has been confirmed by animal and human studies, and even confirmed by the FDA itself, in 1993. In tissue studies, the FDA determined that 67% of the Lidocaine (the most commonly used anesthetic during dental and medical treatments) converts into anilines.

Anilines are commonly known as “coal tar derivatives” and have been found to be cancer-causing, dating to the 19th century. Anilines are one of the main carcinogens found in tobacco. In fact, and injection of only 1cc (one shot) of 2% Lidocaine produces a dose of anilines equivalent to smoking 84,000 cigarettes.

In the United States, until the year 2000, the problem in eliminating the use of these local anesthetics had been the lack of a suitable alternative. Now health-conscious doctors and dentists can use an alternative anesthetic, called Septocaine.

Septocaine was developed almost 40 years ago, in Germany, and is not derived from coal tar. Biochemists have done extensive research and found that the chemical formulation of Septocaine does not resemble aniline, nor could it possibly break down into anilines.

For you health-conscious pateints, that want to avoid carcinogens in anesthetics, look for dentists and doctors that avoid Lidocaine and use Septocaine alternatives.

 

The patches seem expensive

 

I've had an ENT inject me around my ear(s), 3 injections per side. No change to my tinnitus.

 

I doubt these work, however a few days ago I put a small patch on, and my tinnitus was lower the next day. Maybe you just need to find the perfect spot...

Anyone know where in the study it said to put the patches on the neck?