Comparing Migraine Preventive Therapies vs. Anti-CGRP Therapies for Tinnitus in Patients With Migraine (COMPACT-PM)

Tinnitus affects approximately 15% of the global population, and migraine history is an established risk factor for both its prevalence and severity. Converging preclinical and clinical evidence implicates calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) signaling at the intersection of these two conditions: CGRP and its receptors are expressed in cochlear inner and outer hair cells, the spiral ganglion, and the vestibular end organs; in a chronic migraine mouse model, cochlear CGRP expression is upregulated and CGRP administration attenuates cochlear deficits; and in humans, conventional migraine preventive medications have been shown to reduce tinnitus burden as measured by the TFI. Whether CGRP-targeting agents confer additional or differential benefit for tinnitus - given their direct cochlear and vestibular targets - has not been evaluated in a randomized controlled trial. COMPACT-PM addresses this gap using a randomized, open-label, active-comparator controlled design. A placebo arm is not included because withholding migraine preventive treatment from patients with a clinical indication for preventive therapy would be ethically inappropriate; both arms therefore receive active, clinically indicated migraine treatment, and randomization controls for treatment selection bias. Within each arm, the specific agent is selected by the treating clinician based on clinical appropriateness, patient factors, and insurance coverage; participants must have confirmed insurance access to at least one CGRP-targeting agent prior to randomization.