Effect of acupuncture on tinnitus severity index in the elderly with non-pulsating tinnitus

Abstract

IntroductionIdiopathic subjective non-pulsating tinnitus (ISNPT) is a frustrating diagnosis to physicians owing to the limited effectiveness of traditional pharmacological approaches. This study aimed to investigate the effect of acupuncture on quality of life in elderly people with ISNPT.MethodsOverall, 40 patients of both sexes with ISNPT lasting for > 3 consecutive months and aged 65 years participated in this study. They were assigned into the study and the control groups, 20 patients each. The study group received the prescribed medications in addition to manual acupuncture on the following acupoints: SJ 3, SJ 5, SJ 17, SJ 18, SJ 19, SJ 20, SJ 21, SJ 22, GB 2, GB 8, GB 20, LI 4, KI 3, and ST 36, for 30 minutes, 3 times/week for 4 weeks, while the control group received their prescribed medications only. All participants in both groups were assessed with the visual analogue score of tinnitus loudness (VASTL) and tinnitus severity index (TSI).ResultsNo statistically significant changes were reported in VASTL or TSI in the control group, while in the study group, VASTL showed a high statistically significant decrease from 8.27 ± 1.45 to 3.20 ± 1.36 (<i>p</i> < 0.001) and TSI revealed a decrease from 44.30 ± 3.40 to 27.95 ± 4.18 (<i>p</i> < 0.001).ConclusionsAcupuncture is a good adjunctive complementary therapy to ISNPT in the elderly.

Lipid Profile Response to Acupuncture in Obese Patients with Subjective Tinnitus: a Randomized Controlled Trial

“…Ali Mohamed Ali Ismail second hypothesis is that the stimulation of the gall bladder and kidney meridians by AT corrects the qi imbalance of the meridians around the ears [30]. The third hypothesis suggests that acupuncture at the ST36 acupoint is able to correct the tinnitus-related imbalance of the autonomic nervous system [2].…”

“…Group A participants underwent an 8-week AT program that was executed thrice weekly. According to the 3 previously published studies [2,11,13], the following acupoints were selected to be punctured unilaterally on the ipsilateral side of the tinnitus in patients with unilateral tinnitus or bilaterally in participants with bilateral tinnitus: TE3, TE5, TE17, TE18, TE19, TE20, TE21, TE22, GB2, GB8, GB20, LI4, LI11, KI3, SP6, and ST36. Two additional acupoints, ST25 and GB28, located on the abdominal area were punctured bilaterally for both patients with unilateral or bilateral tinnitus.…”

“…The physician, relatives, or others cannot hear this type of tinnitus. Hence, CIST is termed subjective idiopathic tinnitus [2]. CIST affects 15% of the adult population worldwide [3].…”

Disabling tinnitus and third nerve palsy following pontine hemorrhage: Application of ICF framework

“…The National Institute on Deafness and Communication Disorders estimates that 10% of US population is suffering from some form of Tinnitus. Tinnitus can be of several types such as subjective, objective, pulsatile, unilateral, or bilateral 7–9 …”

The Efficacy and Safety of Acupuncture for Tinnitus-Associated Insomnia: A Protocol for a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Acupuncture therapy is an important element of CAM. Various types of acupuncture, such as auricular acupuncture (AA), electroacupuncture (EA), manual acupuncture (MA), have been widely used for treating both tinnitus 15 and insomnia in clinical trials and scientific research. There are also multiple related systematic reviews and meta-analyses.…”