Information What can I do? Treatments Tinnitus and laser therapy Name of treatment Laser therapy (low-level laser therapy; medium-level laser therapy; Tinnitool; EarLaser; soft laser) Type of treatment Physical intervention Claims for treatment Reduces/eliminates the tinnitus percept. How treatment is delivered Low-level laser is targeted at the ear/cochlear either behind the ear or through the ear canal. Potential negative consequences Generally regarded as safe due to low power (similar output to a laser pointer). Evidence offered: Papers available <20 Conclusions drawn Low-level laser therapy is no better than placebo[1] [2] Medium level laser therapy cannot be regarded as an effective treatment of chronic tinnitus[3] Quality of evidence[4] B Does the BTA recommend this treatment? No BTA opinion on this treatment: There is evidence that this treatment does not work. There is no plausible mechanism for this treatment to work. Would the BTA support further studies into this treatment? No Verdict: Safety - is this treatment harmful? Generally regarded as safe Verdict: Efficacy - does this treatment work? Evidence of no effect [1] Dehkordi MA, Einolghozati S, Ghasemi SM, Abolbashari S, Meshkat M, Behzad H. Effect of low-level laser therapy in the treatment of cochlear tinnitus: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Ear Nose Throat J. 2015 Jan;94(1):32-6. [2] Ngao CF, Tan TS, Narayanan P, Raman R. The effectiveness of transmeatal low-power laser stimulation in treating tinnitus. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2014 May;271(5):975-80. doi: 10.1007/s00405-013-2491-3. Epub 2013 Apr 19. [3] Dejakum K, Piegger J, Plewka C, et al. Medium-level laser in chronic tinnitus treatment. Biomed Res Int. 2013;2013:324234. doi:10.1155/2013/324234 [4] A = Systematic review/meta-analysis. B = Randomised control studies. C = Cohort studies. D = Case-control studies. E = case studies/reports. +/- to be used to indicate quality within bands Download this information: Tinnitus_and_laser_therapy_June_2019.pdf Updated 11 June 2019 Photo: press handout