Table 1.
Characteristics of the randomized clinical trials (n = 12) that were included in a meta-analysis to evaluate the effect of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on tinnitus symptoms.21,26–28,35–42
| Study | Active rTMS |
Sham rTMS |
Primary outcome | Brain cortex region | rTMS parameters |
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | Mean age, years | Mean duration of tinnitus, months | n | Mean age, years | Mean duration of tinnitus, months | Frequency, Hz | Pulses, n | MT, % | Days of treatment | Navigation | |||
| Marcondes et al.36 2010 | 10 | >18 | >3 | 9 | >18 | >3 | THI | LTPC | 1 | 1020 | 110 | 5 | No |
| Chung et al.37 2012 | 12 | 53.83 | 87 | 10 | 51.9 | 69 | TQ, THI | AC | 5 | 900 | 80 | 10 | Yes |
| Hoekstra et al.41 2013 | 26 | 50 | 58 | 24 | 55 | 38 | TQ | AC | 1 | 2000 | 110 | 5 | Yes |
| Langguth et al.42 2014 | 48 | 44.9 | 68 | 45 | 50.3 | 74.4 | TQ | LT | 1 | 2000 | 110 | 10 | Yes |
| Bilici et al.38 2015 | 15 | 44.6 | NA | 15 | 53.3 | NA | THI | LTP | 10 | 600 | 110 | 10 | No |
| Folmer et al.39 2015 | 32 | 58.3 | >12 | 32 | 62.8 | >12 | TFI, THI | LT or RT | 1 | 2000 | 110 | 10 | No |
| Ren et al.40 2016 | 27 | 53.21 | NA | 25 | 55.79 | NA | THI | AC | 0.2 | NA | NA | 14 | No |
| Sahlsten et al.28 2017 | 19 | 48.9 | 64.8 | 20 | 51.5 | 58.8 | THI, VAS | LAC | 1 | 4000 | 100 | 10 | Yes |
| Landgrebe et al.27 2017 | 71 | 48.1 | 74.4 | 75 | 49.9 | 97.2 | TQ | LTC | 1 | 2000 | 110 | 10 | No |
| Formánek et al.26 2018 | 20 | 47.9 | 53.4 | 12 | 51.8 | 76.8 | THI, BDI | L-DLPFC and bilateral PAC | 25, 1 | 2300 | 80, 110 | 5 | Yes |
| Dai et al.35 2018 | 70 | 68.47 | 17.83 | 70 | 68.13 | 17.46 | THI, VAS | Bilateral TPC | 1 | 1200 | 110 | 10 | No |
| Noh et al.21 2019 | 17 | 51.9 | 76.1 | 13 | 55.8 | 70.1 | THI | AC and L-DLPFC | 1 | 12000 | 110 | 4 | Yes |
MT, motor threshold; THI, tinnitus handicap inventory; LTPC, left temporoparietal cortex; TQ, tinnitus questionnaire; AC, auditory cortex; LT, left temporal; LTP, left temporoparietal; TFI, tinnitus functional index; RT, right temporal; VAS, visual analogue scores; LAC, left auditory cortex; LTC, left temporal cortex; BDI, Beck depression inventory; L-DLPFC, left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; PAC, primary auditory cortex; TPC, temporoparietal cortex; NA, not available.