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Wednesday, April 4, 2001 Herbal remedy found ineffective for tinnitus Andrew Waits
For many years, people have been taking Ginkgo biloba as a treatment for tinnitus. However, a research study conducted at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom concluded that this popular herbal remedy works no better than a placebo in treating the condition. In an article in the January 13 British Medical Journal (BMJ), the authors reported the results of a double-blind study in which 559 healthy people with tinnitus received 12 weeks of treatment with Ginkgo biloba and 562 received a placebo. Each subject's tinnitus was assessed by means of a series of questionnaires administered before the treatment, after 4 and 12 weeks of treatment, and 2 weeks after treatment ended. The researchers found that the extract from the ginkgo tree was no more effective than the placebo in treating the tinnitus. According to BMJ this was the largest study ever conducted to test the effectiveness of Ginkgo biloba in easing the symptoms of tinnitus.
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