Hindawi Publishing Corporation he Scientiic World Journal Volume 2013, Article ID 596076, 7 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/596076 Clinical Study Efficacy of Low-Level Laser Therapy in the Management of Tinnitus due to Noise-Induced Hearing Loss: A Double-Blind Randomized Clinical Trial Abolfazl Mollasadeghi, 1 Seyyed Jalil Mirmohammadi, 1 Amir Houshang Mehrparvar, 1 Mohammad Hossein Davari, 1 Pedram Shokouh, 2 Mehrdad Mostaghaci, 1 Mohammad Hossein Baradaranfar, 3 and Maryam Bahaloo 4,5 1 Department of Occupational Medicine, School of Medicine, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box 89138-14389, Yazd, Iran 2 Cardiovascular Research Center, Isfahan Cardiovascular Research Institute, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box 81465-1148, Isfahan, Iran 3 Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine, Yazd University of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box 89138-14389, Yazd, Iran 4 Industrial Diseases Research Center, School of Medicine, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box 89138-14389, Yazd, Iran 5 Shahid Rahnamoun Hospital, Farrokhi Ave, Yazd, Iran Correspondence should be addressed to Maryam Bahaloo; drbahaloo@gmail.com Received 1 June 2013; Accepted 12 September 2013 Academic Editors: C. Cingi and F. Oghan Copyright © 2013 Abolfazl Mollasadeghi et al. his is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Background. Several remedial modalities for the treatment of tinnitus have been proposed, but an efective standard treatment is still to be conirmed. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the efect of low-level laser therapy on tinnitus accompanied by noise- induced hearing loss. Methods. his was a double-blind randomized clinical trial on subjects sufering from tinnitus accompanied by noise-induced hearing loss. he study intervention was 20 sessions of low-level laser therapy every other day, 20 minutes each session. Tinnitus was assessed by three methods (visual analog scale, tinnitus handicap inventory, and tinnitus loudness) at baseline, immediately and 3 months ater the intervention. Results. All subjects were male workers with age range of 30–51 years. he mean tinnitus duration was 1.85 ± 0.78 years. All three measurement methods have shown improved values ater laser therapy compared with the placebo both immediately and 3 months ater treatment. Laser therapy revealed a U-shaped eicacy throughout the course of follow-up. Nonresponse rate of the intervention was 57% and 70% in the two assessment time points, respectively. Conclusion. his study found low-level laser therapy to be efective in alleviating tinnitus in patients with noise-induced hearing loss, although this efect has faded ater 3 months of follow-up. his trial is registered with the Australian New Zealand clinical trials registry with identiier ACTRN12612000455864. 1. Introduction Tinnitus is deined as a sound in the ear(s) without any exter- nal auditory stimulus. About 15% of the general population experience at least one episode of tinnitus, which prevalence increases by age and reaches 85% in individuals older than 60 years [1]. his symptom is intolerable in nearly 20% of the cases [2]. Reaching as high as 67%, tinnitus is more prevalent among individuals sufering from hearing disorders [3]. Noise has such deleterious efects on hearing as noise- induced hearing loss (NIHL) is the second most common form of acquired hearing loss. It has long been recognized as a problem in noisy environments workers [4]. As a possible complication of NIHL, tinnitus is usually observed at frequencies equal to or higher than 3000 Hz, which is one octave band higher than the frequencies afected in NIHL. Its intensity is usually between 3 and 5 dB (occasionally up to 15 dB) [5].