The first clinical trial to investigate the effect of a standardized physical therapy treatment—directed to the cervical spine—on tinnitus is being conducted by Sarah Michiels, MSc, and colleagues at the University of Antwerp. The randomized and controlled trial, which began in May, will also seek to identify a subgroup within the tinnitus population that benefits from physical therapy treatment.
The researchers will investigate the effect of a standardized physical therapy treatment protocol on somatic tinnitus with a prospective comparative delayed design and with blinded evaluator for baseline, end of therapy, and 6 and 12 weeks after therapy. The data-collection for the clinical trial is expected to be completed in January 2015.