Electroacupuncture for Tinnitus: A Systematic Review

Abstract

BackgroundTreatment effects of electroacupuncture for patients with subjective tinnitus has yet to be clarified.ObjectivesTo assess the effect of electroacupuncutre for alleviating the symptoms of subjective tinnitus.MethodsExtensive literature searches were carried out in three English and four Chinese databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, CNKI, Wanfang Chinese Digital Periodical and Conference Database, VIP, and ChiCTR).The date of the most recent search was 1 June 2014. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or quasi-RCTs were included. The titles, abstracts, and keywords of all records were reviewed by two authors independently. The data were collected and extracted by three authors. The risk of bias in the trials was assessed in accordance with the Cochrane Handbook, version 5.1.0. (http://www.handbook.cochrane.org). Eighty-nine studies were retrieved. After discarding 84 articles, five studies with 322 participants were identified. Assessment of the methodological quality of the studies identified weaknesses in all five studies. All studies were judged as having a high risk of selection and performance bias. The attrition bias was high in four studies. Incompleteness bias was low in all studies. Reporting bias was unclear in all studies. Because of the limited number of trials included and the various types of interventions and outcomes, we were unable to conduct pooled analyses.ConclusionsDue to the poor methodological quality of the primary studies and the small sample sizes, no convincing evidence that electroacupuncture is beneficial for treating tinnitus could be found. There is an urgent need for more high-quality trials with large sample sizes for the investigation of electroacupuncture treatment for tinnitus.

Electroacupuncture is Beneficial for Primary Dysmenorrhea: The Evidence from Meta‐Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

“…Consistent with our current report, some previous meta-analyses of nonpharmacological interventions on PD focused on the acupuncture [ 27 ], acupressure [ 25 , 53 ], moxibustion [ 54 ], aromatherapy massage [ 55 ], Chinese herbal medicine [ 56 ], transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation [ 57 ], vitamin E [ 58 ], and oral Ginger [ 59 ]. Meanwhile, many meta-analyses about EA have emerged in the recent three years, indicating that EA could provide a positive therapeutic effect for cardiac anesthesia and intensive care [ 60 ], knee osteoarthritis [ 61 ], acute ischemic stroke [ 17 ], and tinnitus [ 62 ]. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs on EA in the treatment of PD.…”

A comparative study on the effects of systemic manual acupuncture, periauricular electroacupuncture, and digital electroacupuncture to treat tinnitus: A randomized, paralleled, open-labeled exploratory trial

“…Some studies have reported that electrical stimulation, including electroacupuncture (EA) to the periauricular region can reduce tinnitus [ 4 – 6 ]. EA sends weak electrical stimulation through acupuncture needles inserted in an acupoint, and the stimulation can be strengthened by the synergistic effect of acupuncture and electrical stimulation [ 7 ]. Wang et al [ 5 ] reported that EA is more effective than manual acupuncture and sham acupuncture in decreasing frequency and loudness, and increasing quality of life, in patients with idiopathic tinnitus.…”

Broadened population-level frequency tuning in the auditory cortex of tinnitus patients

“…Pharmacological treatments (Langguth and Elgoyhen 2012; Beebe Palumbo et al 2015), acupuncture (He et al 2016), transcranial magnetic stimulation (Soleimani et al 2016), deep brain stimulation (Smit et al 2015), cognitive-behavioral therapy (Hesser et al 2012), cochlear implantation (Ramakers et al 2015), and sound therapy (Hoare et al 2014; Hobson et al 2012; Okamoto et al 2010b; Stein et al 2016; Wunderlich et al 2015) have been applied to the treatment of subjective tinnitus; however, their efficiencies are still under debate (Langguth 2015). One of the main difficulties associated with the treatment of tinnitus is that its etiology has not yet been elucidated in detail.…”