Carbamazepine reduces the behavioural manifestations of tinnitus following salicylate treatment in rats.

ABSTRACT

CONCLUSION: The results are consistent with the hypothesis that carbarmazepine (CBZ) has efficacy against tinnitus in humans. OBJECTIVE: CBZ is an anti-epileptic drug that is widely used for the treatment of tinnitus. Despite this, there are relatively few clinical trials or preclinical studies supporting its efficacy. In an effort to increase the amount of information available on CBZ, the aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of CBZ in salicylate-induced tinnitus in rats MATERIALS AND METHODS: We investigated the effects of CBZ in an animal model of tinnitus induced by the injection of salicylate using a conditioned lick suppression paradigm. RESULTS: We found that CBZ, at a dose of 15 mg/kg i.p., but not at 5 mg/kg or 30 mg/ kg, significantly suppressed the behavioural manifestations of tinnitus.