Oral Chemotherapy in Tinnitus

A double-blind triple cross-over trial was designed for 21 patients suffering from tinnitus; mexiletine, diazapam, betahistine and placebo were taken each for a month sequentially during which time the patients recorded their tinnitus loudness subjectively on a visual analogue scale. The results showed that these medications did not influence the tinnitus loudness. Since mexiletine is an oral analogue of lignocaine and a cardiovascular drug, any untoward cardiovascular history and clinical finding disqualified such patients from the trial. Twenty-one such patients were rejected from an original group of 42 patients. In a volunteer trial mexiletine unrelated to this, it was reported that a vasovagal attack was suffered by someone who had just consumed 400 mg mexiletine orally. After ethical considerations the tinnitus trial was stopped. Eleven patients completed the cycle of medications, 10 did not. The dangers of using a cardiovascular drug for a non-cardiovascular condition is thus exposed.