Red light therapy for tinnitus
Several double-blind trials have tested light in the ear. Most found nothing.
Short answer: shining red or near-infrared laser light into the ear has been tested against dummy devices for twenty years. The largest double-blind trials — including one where people used a red laser every day for three months — found it worked no better than the dummy. One trial in workers with noise-damaged hearing found a short-lived benefit that most participants did not get. A newer near-infrared ear device has two small trials from one research group, with mixed results.
Ads for red light ear devices tend to show the hopeful results and leave out the null ones. Here are both.
How the evidence flows
Each claim (middle), the studies that tested it (left) — green found it, red found nothing — and the grade they add up to (right). Drawn from the same records as the grades below. Tap to open full size.
Red light therapy · evidence checked 2026-10-24
What the research shows
Grades are calculated from the studies listed, by fixed rules.
- Low-level laser relieves tinnitus from noise-induced hearing lossPromising
One double-blind trial in male workers whose tinnitus came from noise exposure: better than placebo right after treatment, but most participants did not respond (57%, then 70% at 3 months) and the effect faded. It has not been repeated — and noise damage is itself a kind of inner-ear hearing loss, the group in which two double-blind trials found nothing.
- A near-infrared ear laser (TINI) relieves high-frequency tinnitusEarly evidence
The same research group ran both trials. In the larger, tinnitus scores were no different from sham at the end. In the smaller, single-blind trial some questionnaire scores improved, and faded once treatment switched to sham.
- Red laser light into the ear relieves chronic tinnitus with hearing lossTested — no effect found
Two double-blind trials of a 650 nm, 5 mW laser in the ear — daily for 4 weeks in one, 3 months in the other — found it did no better than a dummy device. A 2022 review of ten trials found eight showed no effect.
- Double-blind randomized trial, 60 people, 12 weeks (2009) — primary outcome: no difference from placebo. Funder not checked.
- Double-blind randomized trial, 66 people, 4 weeks (2015) — primary outcome: no difference from placebo. Funder not checked.
- Narrative review, size not stated (2022) — primary outcome: no difference found. Funder not checked. Not counted toward the grade.
Before you buy an ear light
- See a doctor promptly if tinnitus came on suddenly, is in one ear only, beats in time with your pulse, or comes with hearing loss or dizziness.
- An audiologist can test your hearing and talk you through options with more research behind them.
- Check the label for wavelength (nm) and power (mW), and the FDA database for a clearance under the product’s own name.
- Never shine a laser into eyes.
Related: does red light therapy work? · every claim on the body map
Your next step
- Test firstA hearing test with an audiologistTwo double-blind trials found light in the ear did no better than a dummy device. An audiologist can test your hearing and go through options with more research behind them.