Effect of Nanocurcumin on Tinnitus

Background and Objective: Oxidative stress is one of the causes of tinnitus. The therapeutic effect of nanocurcumin on the antioxidant processes of various diseases has been confirmed; however, no study, to the best of our knowledge, has been conducted on its therapeutic effect on tinnitus. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the effect of nanocurcumin on treating tinnitus. Materials and Methods: This study was a randomized controlled trial (triple-blind intervention). A total of 62 patients with tinnitus were selected by randomized block design with observance of concealment. Then, the participants were divided into two groups of 31 and were treated with nanocurcumin and a placebo. Both groups were similar in terms of age and gender with frequency matching methods. Hearing tests were performed for all patients. Patients received 80 mg/day of nanocurcumin and similar placebo capsules for 21 days. Results: The mean and standard deviation of the age in the nanocurcumin and placebo groups were 77/44 ± 2/15 and 32/46 ± 2.15 years, respectively (P>0.05). The difference between the mean duration of tinnitus was not significant in both groups (P>0.05). The results indicated that the antioxidant nanocurcumin reduced the tinnitus score (P=0.02). However, nanocurcumin failed to affect the frequency, high score, degree of annoyance, mean score of speech discrimination, and speech reception threshold (P>0.05). Also, no side effect was reported from using nanocurcumin. Conclusion: Nanocurcumin is not effective in the treatment of tinnitus.