Effect of chronic cortical stimulation on chronic severe tinnitus: a prospective randomized double-blind cross-over trial and long-term follow up.

•Benefits of stimulating the auditory areas in severe tinnitus using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation or electrical cortical stimulation have been reported.•This double-blind randomized cross-over was designed to evaluate the efficacy of chronic electrical stimulation of the auditory cortex on disabling tinnitus.•None of the 9 patients included achieved significant improvement during the double-blind phase, yet, five reported benefits and still requested stimulation.•This study did not find objective efficacy of chronic cortical stimulation for severe and resistant tinnitus.