The purpose of this study is to investigate the safety and efficacy of neramexane mesylate in the treatment of subjective tinnitus in comparison to placebo.

Inclusion Criteria:

• patients aged 18 to 75 years with a clinical diagnosis of first onset, persistent (i.e. tinnitus sghould never be absent for >24 hours in a row), subjective, uni-or bilateral tinntius present for at least 3 months but not more than 12 months.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Clinical diagnosis of intermittent or pulsatile tinnitus
• Patients who have tinnitus as a concomitant symptom of an otological/neurological disease(such as otitis media, Meniére´s disease, otosclerosis, etc.)