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Evidence map

Tinnitus: what the evidence base looks like

10 publications, 3 of them trials and 5 syntheses. This page describes the shape of that literature rather than summarising its conclusions.

Updated 3 min read 10 citations

What the evidence on tinnitus is made of Of 10 publications on this topic, the breakdown by study type: 5 meta-analysis, 3 randomised trial, 2 review. 532meta-analysis (5)randomised trial (3)review (2)
10 publications, by study type. Volume is not strength — the same count can be a settled question or a pile of commentary, and which one it is depends almost entirely on this breakdown. Harvested from PubMed and Crossref; publication type as recorded by the source.

What this literature is made of

The synthesis is ahead of the primary literature here — reviews and meta-analyses drawing on a modest number of underlying studies. Treat confident conclusions with the caution the sample size deserves.

The distinction that matters most is between synthesis and primary research. A meta-analysis pools trials and is the closest thing to a settled answer a field produces. A narrative review is one group's reading of the same material and can be selective without being dishonest. Counting them together, which most citation counts do, obscures exactly the thing you want to know.

When the tinnitus literature was published Publication years for the 10 papers on this topic, grouped into bands from before 2015 through to 2023 onwards. 2020-20223 papers2015-20193 papersBefore 20153 papers2023 onwards1 papers
Still active. The most recent paper here is from 2026, so this is a field where an answer written today may not hold for long. Publication years as recorded by PubMed and Crossref.

How this page is built

Everything above is computed from the citations this site harvested from PubMed and Crossref, not written by hand. When the weekly harvest finds a new paper on this topic, these counts change and the characterisation changes with them. That is the point: a hand-written claim about how strong an evidence base is starts decaying the day it is written.

Publication type is taken as the source records it. That is imperfect — journals label inconsistently, and a paper indexed as a "review" may be a systematic one — so treat the bands as approximate. They are accurate enough to distinguish a trial literature from a commentary literature, which is the distinction that matters.

The strongest work on this topic

Ordered by study design first, then recency. The full set is listed in the references below.

  1. Auditory Symptoms Among Musicians: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis — McCray LR, Ripp AT, Nguyen SA et al., 2026, meta-analysis
  2. Ginkgo biloba for tinnitus — Sereda M, Xia J, Scutt P et al., 2022, systematic review
  3. Which interventions increase hearing protection behaviors during noisy recreational activities? A systematic review — Loughran MT, Lyons S, Plack CJ et al., 2020, systematic review
  4. Hearing Loss, Tinnitus, Hyperacusis, and Diplacusis in Professional Musicians: A Systematic Review — Di Stadio A, Dipietro L, Ricci G et al., 2018, systematic review
  5. The Effect of Earplugs in Preventing Hearing Loss From Recreational Noise Exposure: A Systematic Review — Kraaijenga VJ, Ramakers GG, Grolman W, 2016, systematic review
  6. Does person-centred care improve outcomes for musicians fitted with hearing protectors? — McGinnity S, Beach EF, Cowan R et al., 2020, randomised controlled trial
  7. Effectiveness of Earplugs in Preventing Recreational Noise-Induced Hearing Loss: A Randomized Clinical Trial — Ramakers GG, Kraaijenga VJ, Cattani G et al., 2016, randomised controlled trial
  8. Psychoacoustic assessment to improve tinnitus diagnosis — Basile CÉ, Fournier P, Hutchins S et al., 2013, randomised controlled trial
  9. Hearing protectors in musicians — Richter B, Zander M, Hohmann B et al., 2011, review
  10. Rock music and hearing disorders — Størmer CC, Stenklev NC, 2007, review
How much research is there on tinnitus?
10 publications are indexed here, of which 3 are trials and 5 are syntheses.
Does more research mean a stronger conclusion?
No. Composition matters more than volume — five randomised trials support a claim far better than fifty commentaries, and citation counts do not distinguish between them.
How current is this?
The most recent paper indexed here is from 2026. The set is refreshed weekly from PubMed and Crossref.
Why does this page not tell me the answer?
Because summarising a literature into a conclusion requires reading it, and doing that automatically is how confident nonsense gets published. This page tells you how much weight a conclusion could bear; the articles on this site do the interpreting.

References

Every citation below links to the original peer-reviewed record on PubMed or via DOI. Nothing here is a substitute for medical advice.

  1. Auditory Symptoms Among Musicians: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis McCray LR, Ripp AT, Nguyen SA, et al. · Otolaryngology--head and neck surgery : official journal of American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery · 2026 · Meta-analysis DOIPubMed 41474194Full text
  2. Ginkgo biloba for tinnitus Sereda M, Xia J, Scutt P, et al. · The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2022 · Systematic review DOIPubMed 36383762Full text
  3. Which interventions increase hearing protection behaviors during noisy recreational activities? A systematic review Loughran MT, Lyons S, Plack CJ, et al. · BMC public health · 2020 · Systematic review DOIPubMed 32919462Full text
  4. Hearing Loss, Tinnitus, Hyperacusis, and Diplacusis in Professional Musicians: A Systematic Review Di Stadio A, Dipietro L, Ricci G, et al. · International journal of environmental research and public health · 2018 · Systematic review DOIPubMed 30261653Full text
  5. The Effect of Earplugs in Preventing Hearing Loss From Recreational Noise Exposure: A Systematic Review Kraaijenga VJ, Ramakers GG, Grolman W · JAMA otolaryngology-- head & neck surgery · 2016 · Systematic review DOIPubMed 26940158
  6. Does person-centred care improve outcomes for musicians fitted with hearing protectors? McGinnity S, Beach EF, Cowan R, et al. · International journal of audiology · 2020 · Randomised controlled trial DOIPubMed 32496835
  7. Effectiveness of Earplugs in Preventing Recreational Noise-Induced Hearing Loss: A Randomized Clinical Trial Ramakers GG, Kraaijenga VJ, Cattani G, et al. · JAMA otolaryngology-- head & neck surgery · 2016 · Randomised controlled trial DOIPubMed 27054284
  8. Psychoacoustic assessment to improve tinnitus diagnosis Basile CÉ, Fournier P, Hutchins S, et al. · PloS one · 2013 · Randomised controlled trial DOIPubMed 24349414Full text
  9. [Hearing protectors in musicians] Richter B, Zander M, Hohmann B, et al. · HNO · 2011 · Review DOIPubMed 21499796
  10. [Rock music and hearing disorders] Størmer CC, Stenklev NC · Tidsskrift for den Norske laegeforening : tidsskrift for praktisk medicin, ny raekke · 2007 · Review PubMed 17435808