The clinical efficacy of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for tinnitus is variable, necessitating predictive biomarkers. We assessed whether pre-treatment multimodal electroencephalography (EEG) could predict rTMS response.
✦ The floor
Discussion
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Clinicians using or considering rTMS for tinnitus should be aware that prolonged P3 latency may serve as a useful pre-treatment predictor of response, though independent replication in larger samples is needed before routine clinical use.
Identifying neurophysiological biomarkers like P3 latency to predict rTMS response would allow audiologists and neurologists to select tinnitus patients most likely to benefit, improving treatment efficiency and reducing futile interventions.
- 01Prolonged P3 latency (delayed brain sound-processing signal) predicted positive clinical response to rTMS in tinnitus patients.
- 02rTMS is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique being studied as a tinnitus treatment.
- 03P3 latency was assessed via event-related potential (ERP) testing, a standard neurophysiology measure.
- 04Findings support P3 latency as a potential neurophysiological biomarker for patient selection.
- 05Study is published in Clinical Neurophysiology Practice; sample size not stated in the provided description.
Prolonged P3 latency predicts clinical response to rTMS in tinnitus patients.
studypartially supportedP3 latency can serve as a neurophysiological biomarker for rTMS treatment selection in tinnitus.
studypartially supported- PMID
- 42293351
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.cnp.2026.05.003.
- Journal
- Clinical Neurophysiology Practice
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 4
- Population
- Patients with chronic tinnitus undergoing rTMS treatment
- Intervention
- Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for tinnitus, with pre-treatment P3 latency measurement
Primary outcomes
Clinical response to rTMS; Association between P3 latency and rTMS treatment outcome