Transient tinnitus suppression induced by repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation and transcranial direct current stimulation

TLDR

The study aimed to replicate prior tinnitus suppression by 10‑Hz rTMS and to test whether anodal tDCS of the left temporoparietal area could produce a similar transient reduction. Six stimulation conditions—10‑Hz rTMS of LTA, 10‑Hz rTMS of mesial parietal cortex, sham rTMS, anodal tDCS of LTA, cathodal tDCS of LTA, and sham tDCS—were applied in random order to tinnitus patients. Both 10‑Hz rTMS and anodal tDCS of the left temporoparietal area produced a significant but short‑lasting reduction in tinnitus, replicating prior findings and demonstrating that anodal tDCS can mimic the transient suppression achieved by high‑frequency rTMS.

Abstract

Modulation of activity in the left temporoparietal area (LTA) by 10 Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) results in a transient reduction of tinnitus. We aimed to replicate these results and test whether transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) of LTA could yield similar effect. Patients with tinnitus underwent six different types of stimulation in a random order: 10-Hz rTMS of LTA, 10-Hz rTMS of mesial parietal cortex, sham rTMS, anodal tDCS of LTA, cathodal tDCS of LTA and sham tDCS. A non-parametric analysis of variance showed a significant main effect of type of stimulation (P = 0.002) and post hoc tests showed that 10-Hz rTMS and anodal tDCS of LTA resulted in a significant reduction of tinnitus. These effects were short lasting. These results replicate the findings of the previous study and, in addition, show preliminary evidence that anodal tDCS of LTA induces a similar transient tinnitus reduction as high-frequency rTMS.