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The effectiveness of two types of low-level laser therapy in patients with persistent tinnitus

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Abstract

Tinnitus is a perception disorder of sound with no hearing impulse. It is a very common otology complaint that leads to worsening quality of life. The experience of sound is only the product of neural system activity, with no matching mechanical or vibratory activity in the cochlea, and is unrelated to any external stimuli. Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) is a medical treatment of tinnitus that uses low-energy-level lasers or light-emitting diodes to stimulate or inhibit cellular function. The study included nine patients aged 20–68 years with unilateral or bilateral tinnitus. It was a self-controlled clinical trial study on subjective tinnitus. All patients attended the ENT outpatient Department, Rzgari Teaching Hospital, Erbil, Iraq. Two types of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) devices were used for patients. The first tool, a soft laser called a Tinnitool, has a wavelength of 660 nm and a power of 100 mW. The second tool is a Tinnitus Pen, which has a wavelength of 650 nm and a power of 5 mW. Seven females (77.7%) and two males (22.2%) participated in this study during one month. The mean age of the study sample was 44 years, with a standard deviation of 15.59 years. There was a significant improvement in the comparison of both types of therapy low-level laser before and after treatment, which reduced the tinnitus level among patients from 70% before treatment to 59% and 65.50%, respectively, after one month of treatment. A paired t test was applied to assess this difference before and after treatment. LLLT devices can be an effective device tool for the treatment of tinnitus and can reduce the symptoms of annoyance that affect the life of the sufferer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology & Medical Physics, Collage of Medicine, Hawler Medical University, Kurdistan Region Government, Erbil, Iraq

    Ronak Taher Ali & Tara Nooruldeen Abdullah

  2. Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Applied Science, Tishk International University, Erbil, Kurdistan Region Government, Iraq

    Ronak Taher Ali

  3. Surgical Department, Collage of Medicine, Hawler Medical University, Kurdistan Region Government, Erbil, Iraq

    Abdulkhaliq K. Emin

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  1. Ronak Taher Ali
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  2. Tara Nooruldeen Abdullah
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  3. Abdulkhaliq K. Emin
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Contributions

The idea of research: supervisor (Assist. Prof. Dr. Ronak T. Ali) with reviewing. Data collection and writing research: Tara Nuradin. Statistical analysis: professional static and diagnosis patents. Follow-up patients: Dr. Abd Al Khaliq.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ronak Taher Ali.

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Ethics approval

The Human Research Ethics Committee (Medical) at the University of Hawler, Medical University, as well as all other relevant authorities, including the heads of the departments where the data was collected, gave their approval before the study could be carried out.

Informed consent

Guided by the ethical principles of the Iraq Medical Research Council, informed consent was obtained from participants before they were included in the study, and they were assured of the study’s confidentiality and their ability to withdraw at any time. Permission to conduct and collect data from the hospital was obtained from relevant doctors in hospitals. Information letters, consent letters, and the THI questionnaires were distributed to the hospital.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Ali, R.T., Abdullah, T.N. & Emin, A.K. The effectiveness of two types of low-level laser therapy in patients with persistent tinnitus. Lasers Med Sci 38, 132 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-023-03797-z

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