A New Look at Lidocaine by Barbara Tabachnick Sanders, Director of Education

[Reprint from Tinnitus Today, September 2000]

We have known for 20 years that lidocaine can reduce the loudness of tinnitus for some people
when it is administered by a slow I.V. (intravenous) drip into the vein. The tinnitus relief that
results from the lidocaine I.V. usually lasts for the length of time that the drug is being injected.
Because lidocaine is a local anesthetic as well as an anti-arrhythmic heart medication with
potential for serious side effects, it has not been a practical long-term treatment for tinnitus.
Researchers have been looking for an oral equivalent to lidocaine, but so far without success.

A new lidocaine study at the Shea Ear Clinic in Memphis indicates a remarkable success rate for
the use of lidocaine in the treatment of tinnitus. In this study, lidocaine was given intravenously
as well as by surgical injection directly into the ear. (The eardrum is pierced with a laser; the
lidocaine is then injected through it and into the cochlea’s round window niche.) Both
procedures last for two hours and are done on three consecutive days. The Shea study cites
successful tinnitus relief after one year for 10 out of 12 ears studied. The researchers, however,
began the study with 71 ears and have not yet explained this “loss of ears” discrepancy in their
report. Additionally, all of the subjects in the study took Xanax for 30 to 60 days after the
surgery. (Xanax is an anti-anxiety medication already known to reduce tinnitus loudness levels.)
Some patients were given antidepressants in addition to Xanax following surgery if their
emotional states warranted it. The introduction of these drugs, plus the absence of a “control” in
the study (where some patients would have been given inactive drugs to test for the placebo
effect), make it difficult to assess the true value of the new lidocaine claims.

Lidocaine is still a fascinating medicine. Something about it affects the chemistry in the brain
and causes a brief interference with tinnitus perception for some people. This new lidocaine
research, however incomplete it might be, could well spark new research interest in this old
tinnitus drug.

To contact the Shea Clinic directly, call or write:

John J. Shea, Jr., M.D.
Shea Ear Clinic
6133 Poplar Pike at Ridgeway
Box 17987
Memphis, TN 38119
901-761-9720

AMERICAN TINNITUS ASSOCIATION

P.O. Box 5 ▪ Portland, OR 97207-0005 ▪ 503-248-9985 ▪ 800-634-8978
tinnitus@ata.org ▪ www.ata.org