Chronic tinnitus is a disabling condition with limited long-term treatments, especially in refractory cases. Although repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) shows short-term benefits, its sustained effects are unclear. This study evaluated long-term outcomes of repeated courses of rTMS in treatment-resistant chronic tinnitus.
✦ The floor
Discussion
Signed responses from readers of the wire.
No actionable change — a single N-of-1 case report cannot support changes to tinnitus management protocols; findings are hypothesis-generating only.
Refractory tinnitus remains one of audiology's hardest therapeutic challenges, and this report adds a data point on whether repeated rTMS courses sustain benefit, though far larger trials are needed.
- 01Single-patient (N-of-1) case report examining repeated low-frequency rTMS for chronic, treatment-resistant tinnitus.
- 02Published in Frontiers in Psychiatry (2026); lowest Oxford evidence level (4/case series).
- 03Low-frequency rTMS targets auditory cortex excitability thought to underlie phantom sound perception.
- 04Results cannot be generalised; individual response variability in tinnitus is high.
- 05Adds to a small but growing literature on neuromodulation as a tinnitus intervention.
Repeated courses of low-frequency rTMS can serve as a treatment approach for refractory chronic tinnitus.
studypartially supported- PMID
- 42602163
- DOI
- 10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1870689.
- Journal
- Frontiers in Psychiatry
- Publication type
- case_report
- Evidence level
- 4
- Sample size
- 1
- Population
- Single patient with refractory chronic tinnitus
- Intervention
- Repeated courses of low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS)
Primary outcomes
Tinnitus severity/symptom change across repeated rTMS treatment courses