Low-level laser therapy for treatment of tinnitus in Red Sea scuba divers: a randomized clinical study

Osama A Elsayad,Basel Alsharif

doi:10.1186/s43163-021-00196-5

Osama A Elsayad, Basel Alsharif

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s43163-021-00196-5

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Abstract

BackgroundScuba diving has become a popular hobby. However, diving puts the auditory system at the risk of a wide variety of complaints including tinnitus. Low-level laser therapy is a new modality in treatment of tinnitus. This study evaluates effect of laser therapy on tinnitus of scuba divers in Red Sea. This randomized study included 200 scuba diving patients with tinnitus without any other audiological symptoms. They were randomly divided into two groups: GI (n=100) patients were subjected to 60 sessions of laser therapy, and in the other group GII (n=100), the machine was off while doing the procedure. The Tinnitus Questionnaire (TQ) was done every 20 days to evaluate the severity of the tinnitus for both groups.ResultsBoth groups were matched regarding age and sex distribution. GI group experienced significantly decreased tinnitus severity compared to GII after laser therapy. There was no relation between duration of diving and laser therapy effect in GI.ConclusionLaser therapy is effective in treatment of tinnitus of scuba divers and its effect is increased by number of laser sessions.

Highlights

Scuba diving has become a popular hobby
Cochlear damage occur after acoustic trauma changes the spontaneous firing rates of neurons in the dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN) [2]
Our study comparing the tinnitus severity by using the Tinnitus Questionnaire (TQ) after laser light output can affect tinnitus recovery for long time, which agree with Hahn et al [12], who studied 100 patients suffered from tinnitus and treated by low-level laser radiation with 200mw and 650 nm wave length for 50 sessions each session10 min and recovery was reported in 59.8% of the patients

Summary

Introduction

Scuba diving has become a popular hobby. diving puts the auditory system at the risk of a wide variety of complaints including tinnitus. This randomized study included 200 scuba diving patients with tinnitus without any other audiological symptoms They were randomly divided into two groups: GI (n=100) patients were subjected to 60 sessions of laser therapy, and in the other group GII (n=100), the machine was off while doing the procedure. Tinnitus is a common otological symptoms and is defined as conscious awareness of a sound in the absence of an external auditory stimulus [1]. In this context, it was suggested that pathophysiological mechanism may be a thalamocortical lesion with decreased auditory stimulation [2]. Low-level laser radiation was introduced as alternative modality for cochlear dysfunction and tinnitus [6]

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