Market research has demonstrated a strong commercial opportunity for an effective pharmacological treatment for tinnitus, but the amount of tinnitus research and financial investment is small compared to other chronic health conditions. Several studies have shown that tinnitus confers a significant financial burden on healthcare systems and an even greater economic impact on society as a whole.
Studies of the delivery of tinnitus services have demonstrated considerable end-user dissatisfaction and a marked disconnect between the aims of healthcare providers and those of tinnitus patients: patients want their tinnitus loudness reduced and would prefer a pharmacological solution over other modalities. Whilst some of the currently available interventions are effective at improving quality of life and reducing tinnitus-associated psychological distress, most show little if any effect on the primary symptom of subjective tinnitus loudness. In particular, there is no drug recommended specifically for the management of tinnitus. Tinnitus is unusual for such a common symptom in that there are few treatment options and those that are available are aimed at reducing the impact rather than specifically addressing the tinnitus percept.
3Action on Hearing Loss, London, United Kingdom.2British Tinnitus Association, Sheffield, United Kingdom.1Colchester General Hospital, East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, Colchester, United Kingdom.McFerran 1,2*, David Stockdale 2, Ralph Holme 3, Charles H.
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