Condition

Tinnitus

Tinnitus is the perception of sound with no outside source, often described as ringing, buzzing or hissing, and it affects roughly 10 to 15 percent of adults. Melatonin has the most support among supplements, and the evidence is moderate: in a small group of people, sleep quality improved. Ginkgo, zinc, vitamin B12 and magnesium have been studied too, but the evidence for each is limited, and the melatonin findings apply mostly to people whose tinnitus disturbs their sleep.

Supplements studied: 4
Graded outcomes: 1
Trials: 8
People studied: 2,836

Evidence by supplement

Strong
Moderate
Limited
Very limited

4 supplements

Melatonin

Melatonin: outcomes studied for Tinnitus
Grade	Outcome	Effect	Size	Studies	People
	Sleep Quality Small Improvement	Improves (the measure goes up)	Small effect		85 people
	Tinnitus Symptoms	Improves (the measure goes down)		4 studies	217 people
Studies that measured tinnitus symptoms Treatment of central and sensorineural tinnitus with orally administered Melatonin and Sulodexide: personal experience from a randomized controlled studyActa Otorhinolaryngol Ital · PMID 20111618 Melatonin: can it stop the ringing?Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol · PMID 21859051 The effects of melatonin on tinnitus and sleepOtolaryngol Head Neck Surg · PMID 16455366 and 1 more on the Melatonin page

Ginkgo Biloba

Ginkgo Biloba: outcomes studied for Tinnitus
Grade	Outcome	Effect	Size	Studies	People	Studies list
	Tinnitus Symptoms	Improves (the measure goes down)		3 studies	2,559 people
Studies that measured tinnitus symptoms Clonazepam quiets tinnitus: a randomised crossover study with Ginkgo bilobaJ Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry · PMID 22626945 Ginkgo biloba for tinnitusCochrane Database Syst Rev · PMID 23543524 Effectiveness of Ginkgo biloba in treating tinnitus: double blind, placebo controlled trialBMJ · PMID 11154618

Zinc

Tinnitus Symptoms: improves

Zinc: outcomes studied for Tinnitus
Grade	Outcome	Effect	Size	Studies	People	Studies list
	Tinnitus Symptoms	Improves (the measure goes down)		1 study	41 people
Studies that measured tinnitus symptoms The role of zinc in the treatment of tinnitusOtol Neurotol · PMID 12544035

Magnesium

Tinnitus Symptoms: improves

Magnesium: outcomes studied for Tinnitus
Grade	Outcome	Effect	Size	Studies	People	Studies list
	Tinnitus Symptoms	Improves (the measure goes down)		1 study	19 people
Studies that measured tinnitus symptoms Phase 2 study examining magnesium-dependent tinnitusInt Tinnitus J · PMID 22249877

Key findings

Sleep QualityMelatoninImproves (the measure goes up)

The Tinnitus Support protocol

2 primary supplements · 3 supporting supplements

Melatonin3–5 mg at bedtime
Ginkgo Biloba120–240 mg standardized extract daily

See the full protocol

Studies cited

9 studies from PubMed

The role of zinc in the treatment of tinnitusOtol Neurotol · PMID 12544035
Effect of melatonin on tinnitusLaryngoscope · PMID 9504599
The effects of melatonin on tinnitus and sleepOtolaryngol Head Neck Surg · PMID 16455366
Melatonin: can it stop the ringing?Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol · PMID 21859051
Treatment of central and sensorineural tinnitus with orally administered Melatonin and Sulodexide: personal experience from a randomized controlled studyActa Otorhinolaryngol Ital · PMID 20111618
Phase 2 study examining magnesium-dependent tinnitusInt Tinnitus J · PMID 22249877
Effectiveness of Ginkgo biloba in treating tinnitus: double blind, placebo controlled trialBMJ · PMID 11154618
Ginkgo biloba for tinnitusCochrane Database Syst Rev · PMID 23543524
Clonazepam quiets tinnitus: a randomised crossover study with Ginkgo bilobaJ Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry · PMID 22626945