Treatment of tinnitus with tocainide hydrochloride.

Intravenous (IV) injection of lidocaine was used in patients with tinnitus for combined treatment with oral anticonvulsants carbamazepine (Tegretol) and primidone (Mysoline). In most cases, the high complication rate with these drugs precluded their long-term use. Tocainide hydrochloride (HCl), a primary amine analog of lidocaine, can be taken orally and was evaluated for the use in the treatment of tinnitus. A double-blind study in which one group received 200 mg tocainide HCl four times a day and one group received a placebo revealed no significant differences in tinnitus relief between the two groups. A single-blind study in which 600 mg tocainide HCl four times a day was administered showed 80% to 98% tinnitus relief in five of the six patients who tolerated the drug. Tocainide HCl treatment of tinnitus is promising.