A chronic protocol of bilateral transcranial direct current stimulation over auditory cortex for tinnitus treatment: Dataset from a double-blinded randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Preliminary studies have demonstrated the therapeutic potential of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for chronic tinnitus. However, the findings are controversial and most of the studies investigated effects of a single session of tDCS and short after-effects, ranging from hours to days. To our knowledge, there is no published study investigating the effects of a chronic protocol of bilateral tDCS over auditory cortex (AC) with one month follow-up in a double blinded randomized clinical trial. This dataset presents the results of a double-blinded placebo controlled trial investigating the effects of chronic protocol (10 sessions) of tDCS over AC with 1 month follow-up. The data of the two groups, real tDCS (n=25) and sham tDCS (n=15), are reported. The dataset includes three main data groups: patient- and tinnitus-specific data, data of the primary and secondary outcomes, and data on the adverse effects of and tolerability to tDCS. The first group includes demographic information, audiometric assessments, and tinnitus-specific characteristics. The second group includes tinnitus handicap inventory (THI) scores, tinnitus loudness, and tinnitus related distress based on 0-10 numerical visual analogue scale (VAS) scores. The values of the primary and secondary outcomes for pre-intervention and at different time points following interventions are presented. THI scores pre-intervention and immediately post-intervention and at 1 month follow-up; the scores of tinnitus loudness and distress scores for pre-intervention, and immediately, 1 hour, 1 week, and at 1 month after the last stimulation session are presented. Moreover, the adverse effects of and tolerability to the tDCS were assessed using a customized questionnaire after the last tDCS session. This dataset can be used alone or in combination with other datasets using advanced statistical analyses and modeling to investigate the treatment efficacy of tDCS in chronic intractable tinnitus.