Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39588680›Full record

Trial reportOtolaryngology--head and neck surgery : official journal of American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery2025

Efficacy of Nortriptyline-Topiramate and Verapamil-Paroxetine in Tinnitus Management: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial.

Mehdi Abouzari, Karen Tawk, Joshua K Kim, Eva D Larson, Harrison W Lin, Hamid R Djalilian

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Otolaryngology--head and neck surgery : official journal of American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Trial
  2. The Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors Journey: From Early Promise to Lasting Impact.Journal of immunotherapy and precision oncology · 2026
    Review
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Mehdi AbouzariDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of California, Irvine, California, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3585-698X
Karen TawkDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of California, Irvine, California, USA.
Joshua K KimDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of California, Irvine, California, USA.
Eva D LarsonDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of California, Irvine, California, USA.
Harrison W LinDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of California, Irvine, California, USA.
Hamid R DjalilianDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of California, Irvine, California, USA.

Funding

University of California Health Participation in the National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C)UL1TR001414 · NCATS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE · PI COOPER, DAN M, VILAIN, ERIC J. · 2015 to 2023
$35.1M
Institute for Clinical and Translational ScienceUM1TR004927 · NCATS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE · PI DAN M COOPER, Eric J. Vilain · 2024 to 2026
$12.2M
NRSA Training CoreTL1TR001415 · NCATS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE · PI CAIOZZO, VINCENT JAMES, HEAD, ELIZABETH · 2015 to 2023
$4.2M
NCATS NIH HHS TL1 TR001415NCATS NIH HHS UL1 TR001414NCATS NIH HHS UM1 TR004927
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo evaluate the efficacy of 2 drug combinations on tinnitus severity and associated stress, depression, sleep, and anxiety. STUDY

designA randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial conducted between 2019 and 2023 for an 8-week duration.

settingSingle institution tertiary care center.

methodsThe study recruited adult patients with moderate to severe tinnitus for 6 months or more. In total, 81 patients were assessed for eligibility, 78 were enrolled and randomized, and 67 were included in the per-protocol analysis. Patients were randomized into 3 groups (1:1:1). Group NT received nortriptyline-topiramate, group VP received verapamil-paroxetine, and group P received placebo.

resultsA total of 19 patients in group NT, 22 in group VP, and 26 patients in group P were included in the per-protocol analysis. In group NT, the Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI) score decreased from 58.4 ± 13.9 (baseline) to 46.3 ± 17.5 (end-of-trial) (P < .001). Similarly, in group VP, the TFI score decreased from 54.6 ± 17.5 to 42.2 ± 16.1 (P = .004). However, group P did not demonstrate any significant decrease in the TFI score from 51.2 ± 18.6 to 45.2 ± 20.1 (P = .086). The between-arm analysis did not yield any statistical significance decrease in the TFI score (analysis of variance, P = .265).

conclusionBoth combinations of drugs were promising in improving tinnitus severity. However, larger-scale trials with longer follow-up periods are warranted to validate our findings between groups.

Indexed as

NortriptylineTinnitusVerapamilAdultAgedDouble-Blind MethodDrug CombinationsDrug Therapy, CombinationFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedSeverity of Illness IndexTreatment OutcomeDrug CombinationsNortriptylineVerapamilmigrainenortriptyline‐topiramaterandomized clinical trialtinnitusverapamil‐paroxetine

Identifiers

PMID39588680
PMCPMC12579525

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.