The Effects of Bifrontal Transcranial Direct
Current Stimulation Combined
with Conventional Treatment for Tinnitus Patients

Lee, A-Ram; Kang, Bo-Min; Hwang, In-Hee; Park, Sung-Il; Yun, Sung-Hee; Lee, Dong-Myung

doi:2016.12.1.24

Audiology and Speech Research > Volume 12(1); 2016 > Article

Research Paper

Audiology and Speech Research 2016;12(1): 24-29.
Published online: January 31, 2016.
doi: http://doi.org/10.21848/asr.2016.12.1.24

이명환자에 대한 기존 치료법과 병행한 경두개 직류전기 자극치료 효과

이아람¹, 강보민¹, 황인희¹, 박성일², 윤성희¹, 이동명¹

¹동명이비인후과의원
²우송대학교 언어치료청각재활학부

The Effects of Bifrontal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Combined with Conventional Treatment for Tinnitus Patients

A-Ram Lee¹, Bo-Min Kang¹, In-Hee Hwang¹, Sung-Il Park², Sung-Hee Yun¹, Dong-Myung Lee¹

¹Dongmyung ENT Clinic, Busan, Korea
²Department of Speech-Language Therapy and Aural Rehabilitation, Woosong University, Daejeon, Korea

Correspondence

Dong-Myung Lee ,Tel: +82-51-558-3773, Fax: +82-51-558-3703, Email: liteofeast@hanmail.net

Received: September 1, 2015; Revised: October 6, 2015 Accepted: November 3, 2015. Published online: January 31, 2016.

ABSTRACT

Purpose:
The purpose of this study is to find out the efficacy of treatment of tinnitus when used Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) with existing methods such as Tinnitus Retraining Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Sound therapy and tympanic injection therapy (dexa-methasone administration).
Method:
We collected data from sixty tinnitus patients excluding patients with any other diseases. We divided sixty patients into two group, the control group and the experimental group. Thirty patients of the control group were treated using only the existing methods, and thirty patients of the experimental group were treated using the existing methods and tDCS together.
Results:
The control group showed a significant decrease in only Korea adaptation of Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (K-THI) socre (p < 0.05) from 43.4 to 27.2. However, the experimental group showed a significant decrease in both K-THI score from 46.4 to 21.1 and tinnitus loudness from 14 dB sensation level (SL) to 8.8 dB SL (p < 0.05). The efficacy of tDCS in patients with tinnitus could not be fully confirmed by the current study because of the limited number of patients, but this study demonstrated a significant improvement of tinnitus intensity and K-THI score.
Conclusion:
tDCS is considered to be a promising tool for tinnitus management.

Key Words: Transcranial direct current stimulation, Tinnitus, Korean adaptation of Tinnitus Handicap Inventory, Tinnitus loudness.

중심단어: 경두개 직류 전기 자극술· 이명· 한국어 번역판 이명 불편감 척도· 이명강도.