Attempts to suppress tinnitus with transcutaneous electrical stimulation.

Various electrical stimuli were tested for their ability to suppress or relieve severe tinnitus. Stimulation was applied transdermally by electrodes placed on the preauricular and postauricular regions and on the two mastoids. Of the 50 patients tested, only 14 (28%) obtained relief that met the criterion of a reduction in the tinnitus by 40% or more. When relief was obtained, it usually extended for several hours into the poststimulation period. There was only one positive response (2%) in the placebo trial, which was administered to all patients. It was concluded that transdermal electrical stimulation such as that used in this research is not a practical therapeutic procedure for the relief of tinnitus.