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Go90 published a video that was shared by George Takei on Facebook, garnering many millions of views.

It shows some anecdotal evidence of a handful of long-term tinnitus sufferers apparently being cured by a technique found on the Internet. The technique (which seems identical to a Taoist exercise, "banging the heavenly drum") involves putting your palms on the side of your head, and flicking your fingers.

While the video warns in the small print to consult a doctor first, it isn't clear what risks are involved (which strikes me as unethical).

Meanwhile, a summary of a evidence-based clinical review of tinnitus practices from 2014 doesn't mention the technique and warns against fads:

Dr. Jastreboff also expressed skepticism.

“I have seen many claims of ‘highly effective treatment’ over the last 30 years, which turned out to be not true when investigated by independent investigators,” he said.

Are a significant number of tinnitus sufferers helped - even if only temporarily - by this technique?

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Oddthinking
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    Doesn't work for me and I have tinnitus. At best, it (subjectively) produced a very temporary partial alleviation of symptoms that returned to normal over the period of around one minute. Not an answer but a partial debunking. – mcottle Jun 02 '17 at 01:32
  • Thanks, but that isn't a partial debunking. That's another anecdote. Maybe it only helps 80% of people. Maybe you did it wrong. Maybe you suffer from a different issue to the one this cures. This needs a controlled study. – Oddthinking Jun 02 '17 at 03:29

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