The effects of diet and physical activity induced weight loss on the severity of tinnitus and quality of life: A randomized controlled trial

Summary Background & aims Subjective tinnitus is the most common and manifest auditory symptom of an existing pathology in the auditory system. Although the effect of obesity on tinnitus is still uncertain, it is known that increased fat tissue increases the severity and symptoms of tinnitus. In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the effect of weight loss through diet and physical activity on tinnitus. Methods Forty-six obese subjects diagnosed with tinnitus were randomized into the diet + physical activity (PA) (n = 13), diet (n = 16) and the control groups (n = 17). The anthropometric measurements, tinnitus severity scores, tinnitus handicap inventory (THI) scores and short form quality of life (SF-36) scores of the individuals were recorded and compared at the beginning and at the end of the study. Results In the diet + PA and diet groups; body weight (diet + PA:-6.5 ± 2.6; diet: −4.1 ± 1) tinnitus severity (diet + PA:-11.0 ± 7.0; diet: −9.0 ± 8.7) and THI scores (diet + FA:-15.0 ± 9.5; diet: −14.0 ± 10.0) significantly decreased compared to the control group (p  Conclusions Diet and physical activity intervention ameliorated the tinnitus severity and quality of life in obese patients with tinnitus. However to generalize this findings further studies are needed. Registered under clinicaltrials.gov identifier no NCT00123456.