An interventional study of transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Tinnitus, sponsored by University of Nottingham. Recruiting at 1 site in United Kingdom. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-02-12.
Sponsored by University of Nottingham · Not applicable, Interventional, and Other
Tinnitus - the awareness of sound without any outside source - affects around 15% of people and can cause anxiety and depression. Treatment options are limited and do not address tinnitus directly (e.g., reduce its loudness). To do that, we must change brain activity causing tinnitus. Low-dose electrical stimulation, using a technique called transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS), is a promising approach. The technique is safe and easy to administer. Several small studies have tested tDCS for tinnitus showing some benefits.
To assess whether these benefits will generalise to other patients, we need to conduct a randomised controlled trial - a large, rigorously controlled experiment based on prior agreed procedures. Clinical trials are expensive and time-consuming to run and thus require meticulous pilot work to establish the most effective treatment regimens and the most sensitive measures of treatment outcome. The current study aims to provide such pilot information for a clinical trial of tDCS treatment of tinnitus. Using a total of 40 patients, we will establish how to best to administer tDCS and measure resulting changes in tinnitus perception and associated brain activity.
The current study is a crucial first step towards determining whether or not tDCS can effectively treat tinnitus.
444 studies on the registry are indexed under Tinnitus; 98 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 40 is below the median of 60 across 368 interventional studies indexed under Tinnitus.
Browse Tinnitus studies →University of Nottingham is the lead sponsor of 465 studies on the registry; 80 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
TDCS will be delivered using a NeuroConn DC Stimulator Plus via two 35cm2 rubber electrodes covered in saline-soaked sponges. The anode electrode will be positioned over EEG 10-20 coordinate F4 and the cathode over F3. The current will be delivered at 2mA for 20 minutes with ramp-up and ramp-down of 10 seconds. Each participant will receive 10 daily stimulation sessions over 2 weeks.
Device: transcranial Direct Current Stimulation
Same as intervention arm but the current will be delivered at 2mA for 30 seconds, after which the stimulation will be discontinued.
Device: transcranial Direct Current Stimulation
transcranial Direct Current Stimulation
Proof of concept
Measured by protocol compliance and attrition
Time frame: Assessed at study end (anticipated as 1 year after study start)
Tinnitus symptom severity
Measured by Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI); maximum score: 100, higher score indicates greater tinnitus symptom severity
Time frame: Before first intervention session, after final intervention session and at 3-month follow-up
Tinnitus loudness
Measured by 10-point visual analogue scale, higher score indicates higher tinnitus loudness and by audiometric tinnitus loudness matching, with higher dB indicating higher loudness
Time frame: Before first intervention session, after each intervention session and at 3-month follow-up (VAS). Before first intervention session and after final intervention session (loudness matching)
Depression
Measured by Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) scores can range from 0 to 27 with a higher score indicating more severe symptoms
Time frame: Before first intervention session, after final intervention session and at 3-month follow-up
Anxiety
Measured by Generalised Anxiety Disorder Assessment (GAD-7) scored from 0 to 21, with a higher score indicating more severe anxiety
Time frame: Before first intervention session, after final intervention session and at 3-month follow-up
Treatment satisfaction
Measured by Short Assessment of Patient Satisfaction (SAPS) scores can range from 0 to 28 with higher scores indicating greater satisfaction
Time frame: After final intervention session and at 3-month follow-up
Adverse effects
Measured by in-house adverse effects questionnaire without numerical scoring system.
Time frame: After each intervention session (10 sessions over 2 weeks)
Electrophysiological brain activity
Spontaneous oscillatory and auditory-evoked brain activity and coherence will be measured using 32-channel EEG. We will acquire basic structural brain images on a subset of 10 representative subjects to test the feasibility of creating individualised head models for EEG source imaging and tDCS current flow modelling.
Time frame: Before first intervention session and after final intervention session (1st and 10th of 10 sessions over 2 weeks)..
Plan to share: No
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