Effects of acupuncture on tinnitus:A case series

Abstract

[Purpose]Various factors may affect tinnitus, but the effects of acupuncture on tinnitus have not been evaluated. Therefore, we accumulated cases, and evaluated the characteristic effects of acupuncture on tinnitus.
[Methods]Of 46 patients with tinnitus who visited the Acupuncture Clinic, Meiji School of Oriental Medicine between April 2004 and March 2014, 31 who underwent acupuncture therapy consecutively 5 times or more were included as the subjects for analysis. The median age of the subjects was 60 years old (range: 26-88 years old), and the duration of tinnitus was 1 month or more in 81%of the cases. A total of 29 patients had visited otolaryngological clinics, and hearing loss had been detected in 23patients. Tinnitus loudness was assessed with the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), handicap due to tinnitus in daily life with the Japanese version of the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI), and tinnitus persistence and annoyance with the subjective expression of the Standard Tinnitus Test (1993). In situ acupuncture was performed once per week at acupoints around the mastoid process, such as at GB 12 (Wangu), and at points in the head and neck area that changed the tinnitus when compressed.
[Results]At the completion of acupuncture therapy, the tinnitus loudness evaluated by VAS was significantly decreased. THI scores and annoyance also significantly decreased, but tinnitus persistence did not change. Tinnitus change was observed in 6 patients during the compression of points in the head and neck, and for all of them tinnitus reduction was observed at the completion of acupuncture therapy. Of the other 21 patients, who showed no change during the compression of points in the head and neck, tinnitus reduction was observed in 57%, no change in 14%, and aggravation in 29%.
[Discussion and Conclusion]Acupuncture might reduce tinnitus loudness, annoyance, and handicap caused by it in daily life. Acupuncture therapy may be effective for patients in whom tinnitus changes during the compression of points in the head and neck area, suggesting the involvement of somatosensory stimulation in its development.