The Study
Investigating the efficacy of fluoxetine vs. fluoxetine plus alprazolam (single therapy vs. combination therapy) in treatment of chronic tinnitus: A placebo-controlled study.
This study tested two medicines to see if they help people with ringing in the ears feel better. It randomly gave some people one medicine, some another, and some a sugar pill. It found that both medicines helped people feel less bothered by the ringing, but one wasn’t better than the other. So we can say they probably help, but they don’t fix the ringing itself.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
This study tested if taking fluoxetine (an antidepressant) or fluoxetine plus a calming pill helps people with constant ringing in the ears feel better.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 568 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1The improvement in distress is real but small — it helps people feel less bothered emotionally, but doesn’t silence the ringing.
- 2Fluoxetine made tinnitus feel less upsetting (THI/VAS improved) and lifted mood (BDI down), but made anxiety worse (BAI up).
- 3The combo pill helped mood more, but not enough to be sure.
- 4Neither changed how loud the ringing sounded (TSI unchanged).
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
American journal of otolaryngology
Year
2021
Authors
A. Saberi, S. Nemati, E. Lili, Hoda Esmaeilpour, Rasool Panahi
Related Content
Claims (6)
In adults with chronic tinnitus, fluoxetine increases anxiety levels while decreasing depressive symptoms, showing that its effects on anxiety and depression are not the same.
In adults with chronic tinnitus, taking fluoxetine and alprazolam together does not produce a reliably detectable change in anxiety or depression scores compared to taking fluoxetine alone.
Taking anti-anxiety medications does not reduce or eliminate tinnitus symptoms.
In adults with chronic tinnitus, taking 20 mg of fluoxetine daily for 8 weeks reduces emotional distress and depressive symptoms but does not change how loud or intense the ringing in the ears is perceived.
For adults with chronic tinnitus, taking fluoxetine and alprazolam together does not lead to better reduction in tinnitus distress or depression than taking fluoxetine alone.
Fluoxetine and fluoxetine combined with alprazolam do not reduce the measured intensity of tinnitus in adults with chronic tinnitus, but they improve how emotionally bothered people feel by the ringing in their ears.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.