INTRODUCTION: Tinnitus is a symptom which concerns and harms many peoples lives. There is still no standardized therapy for tinnitus. The purpose of this review is to find out whether physiotherapy can be effective for the treatment of tinnitus. METHODS: A systematic literature review in seven databases was conducted by using the databases DIMDI and PubMed. The level of evidence was assessed with the classification of the Cochrane Collaboration and methodological quality was determined by using the PEDro scale. RESULTS: 25 studies met the inclusion criteria. Seven studies described multidisciplinary interventions whereas 13 analyzed physiotherapeutic interventions only. Four studies explored TENS, one acupuncture in combination with postural training and stretching, and one study respectively examined acupuncture, ultrasound, relaxation therapy, yoga, Qigong, osteopathy, orafaszial myofunctional therapy and physiotherapy. For all interventions except the ultrasound treatment the studies showed a good or significant effect on tinnitus. The level of evidence was 1b for ten studies, 2a for ten studies and only 4 for five studies. The methodological quality varied from deficient (2/10 points of the PEDro-scale) to very good (10/10). CONCLUSION: Concerning content and methodological quality and also many other characteristics there were huge differences between the included studies. As a matter of fact they were quite difficult to compare. Additionally, for most of the interventions there was only one study found -- this is not sufficient for an evidence-based statement about their efficacy. Therefore the results of this study should be regarded with caution. All interventions except the ultrasound therapy showed a positive effect on tinnitus, especially the multidisciplinary interventions and electrical stimulation by using TENS are more widely examined and attained good improvements. For all interventions, especially for manual therapy, more research is needed.

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