Salahaldin Ahmed H, Abdulhadi Khalid, Najjar Nihal, Bener Abdulbari
ENT and Head and Neck Surgery Department, Audiology and Balance Unit, Rumaillah Hospital and Hamad General Hospital, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
ISRN Otolaryngol. 2012 Apr 9;2012:132060. doi: 10.5402/2012/132060. Print 2012.
Objective. The objective of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) in treating patients who were suffering from long-term complaints of tinnitus with well-understood etiology and who were not responding to conventional therapy in Qatar. Design. This is a prospective clinical study conducted during the period from May 2010 and February 2011. Setting. Audiology Clinic, Outpatient Department, Hamad General Hospital. Subjects and Methods. The study included 65 patients aged 15-76 years with chronic unilateral or bilateral tinnitus with a minimum duration of illness of one year. The investigation included 101 ears of 65 patients. A 5 mW laser with a wavelength of 650 nm was applied transmeatally for 20 minutes once daily for 3 months. The study was based on a face-to-face interview with a designed questionnaire that recorded the diagnosis of patients, clinical evaluation and audiometric test results, and side effects of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) and scored their symptoms loudness on five-point scale every two weeks. A decrease of one scale point regarding the loudness duration and degree of annoyance of tinnitus was accepted to represent an improvement; at the same time, a pure tone audiometric test was carried out and the results recorded. In addition, a record of the side effect was taken. Results. Over half of the patients (56.9%) had some form of improvement in their tinnitus symptoms. Mild improvement was reported in 33.8% of patients, moderate improvement was reported in 16.9%, and full improvement was reported in 6.15%. Of the patients who reported dizzy spells as a symptom of their tinnitus condition, 27.7% reported mild improvement and 16.9% reported full improvement. Common side effects of LLLT were noted among 20% of patients; however, all of them were mild and disappeared within a few days. Conclusion. Low-level laser therapy was found to be useful for treatment of chronic tinnitus.
目的。本研究的目的是调查低强度激光疗法（LLLT）对卡塔尔患有病因明确的长期耳鸣且对传统疗法无反应的患者的治疗效果。设计。这是一项于2010年5月至2011年2月期间进行的前瞻性临床研究。地点。哈马德总医院门诊部听力诊所。受试者与方法。该研究纳入了65名年龄在15 - 76岁之间、患有慢性单侧或双侧耳鸣且病程至少一年的患者。调查涉及65名患者的101只耳朵。使用波长为650 nm的5 mW激光经鼓膜照射，每天一次，每次20分钟，持续3个月。该研究基于一份设计好的问卷进行面对面访谈，问卷记录了患者的诊断、临床评估和听力测试结果、低强度激光疗法（LLLT）的副作用，并每两周用五点量表对其耳鸣症状的响度进行评分。耳鸣响度持续时间和烦恼程度降低一个量表点被视为改善；同时，进行纯音听力测试并记录结果。此外，记录副作用情况。结果。超过一半的患者（56.9%）耳鸣症状有某种程度的改善。33.8%的患者报告有轻度改善，16.9%报告有中度改善，6.15%报告有完全改善。在将头晕发作作为耳鸣症状之一的患者中，27.7%报告有轻度改善，16.9%报告有完全改善。20%的患者出现了低强度激光疗法的常见副作用；然而，所有副作用都很轻微，且在几天内消失。结论。发现低强度激光疗法对慢性耳鸣的治疗有用。
