Acupuncture in the treatment of tinnitus: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

This study aimed at a systematic review and meta-analysis of all available randomized controlled trials (RCTs) using acupuncture to treat tinnitus. Five electronic databases, in both English and Chinese, were searched. All studies in our review and meta-analysis included parallel RCTs of tinnitus patients which compared subjects receiving acupuncture (or its other forms, such as electroacupuncture) to subjects receiving no treatment, sham treatment, drugs or basic medical therapy. Data from the articles were validated and extracted using a predefined data extraction form. Nearly all of Chinese studies reported positive results, while most of English studies reported negative results. Analysis of the combined data found that the acupuncture treatments seemed to provide some advantages over conventional therapies for tinnitus. It had difference in acupuncture points and sessions between Chinese studies and English studies. Methodological flaws were also found in many of the RCTs, especially in Chinese studies. The results of this review suggest that acupuncture therapy may offer subjective benefit to some tinnitus patients. Acupuncture points and sessions used in Chinese studies may be more appropriate, whereas these studies have many methodological flaws and risk bias, which prevents us making a definitive conclusion.

Outcomes of Triple-Combination Therapy for Chronic Tinnitus

“…Some authors have reported that acupuncture alone (22) or combined with Qi-training (2) could modulate cardiac autonomic functions and reduce tinnitus-related symptoms in patients with chronic tinnitus. However, a meta-analysis has concluded that the beneficial effect of traditional Chinese acupuncture remains inconclusive for patients with tinnitus (23,24). In this study, we found that the F and C subscores, but not the E subscore, were significantly decreased following our triple-combination therapy.…”

The Effectiveness of Acupuncture for Osteoporosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Some articles used the diagnostic criterion of WHO, and some articles used Chinese diagnostic criterion. Fourthly, in other studies, the most notable finding was that nearly all Chinese studies reported positive results in the acupuncture research (Liu et al, 2016a), and all the studies that were included in this meta-analysis were Chinese trials. That may lead to positive results in the meta-analysis.…”

Complementary Therapies for Significant Dysfunction from Tinnitus: Treatment Review and Potential for Integrative Medicine

“…Although research support of nonconventional therapies for tinnitus has been limited, there is increasing justification for including them with SBE therapy. In particular, there is growing evidence for the following approaches: (1) psychological and behavioral therapies, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) [ 9 – 11 ]; (2) mind-body therapies, such as biofeedback and meditation, which target autonomic balance and can be effectively coupled with CBT to independently address psychological and physiological variables [ 12 – 14 ]; and (3) acupuncture [ 15 , 16 ].…”

“…On the other hand, most of the English studies reported negative results and used distinct acupoints compared to those utilized in the Chinese studies. An analysis of all data together suggested that acupuncture provided some advantages over conventional therapies for tinnitus in terms of subjective benefit but agreed that no definitive conclusions could be made [ 15 ].…”