Vitamins for Tinnitus,Ginkgo Biloba

There are a number of people who recommend ginkgo biloba for tinnitus treatment, but I decided to investigate a little deeper to find evidence to support the claims that the chinese herb is actually effective for tinntius, or whether its no better than placebo. This is what I found:

The leaves from the Chinese gingko biloba tree have been used for many centuries as a herbal remedy for a wide variety of diseases ranging from asthma to Alzheimer’s disease.

The active ingredients that deliver the therapeutic effect are flavonoids and terpenoids believed to improve circulation, which could potentially be effective for pulsatile tinnitus which can be caused by circulatory problems.

Distributors of ginkgo biloba often claim its use can significantly improve tinnitus. The website www.ginkgobilobaextract.net quotes: ‘In a study conducted in 1986, ringing problems of tinnitus patients were completely eradicated in 35% of the patients under study by ginkgo biloba tinnitus remedy’.

However, the study is rather old and despite apparently impressive results, the case for ginkgo biloba use is weakened by more recent reports that show no benefit.
Recent clinical trials on ginkgo biloba

A study conducted in 1994 at the Department of Audiology, Sahlgren's Hospital, Goteborg, Sweden, revealed that there was no difference in tinnitus improvement between tinnitus patients who used ginkgo biloba or placebo.

A more recent study in 2004 found that ‘21.6% of ginkgo biloba treated patients gained benefit, versus 18.4% of placebo treated patients’. Essentially, this means that gingko biloba has no effect on reducing tinnitus.

In fact most of the well-designed scientific studies on ginkgo biloba support the findings that ginkgo biloba is of no benefit to tinnitus sufferers, or at most is only as effective as placebo. Based on these findings it would appear that the use of ginkgo biloba is without scientific foundation and can potentially divert tinnitus sufferers from other, more useful therapies.

In addition, heavy and frequent use of ginkgo biloba is associated with a number of undesirable side effects including heart palpitations, headaches, and nausea.