Acupuncture an alternative treatment for patients with refractory sudden sensorineural hearing loss

Abstract

Objectives: This study aims to investigate the effect of acupuncture treatment on hearing and tinnitus in patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss SNHL refractory to treatment. Patients and Methods: Between January 2013 and May 2015, a total of 25 patients 8 males, 17 females; median age: 43.3 years; range, 18 to 65 years resistant to medical treatment who underwent acupuncture as salvage therapy were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were evaluated with pure-tone audiometry, Speech Discrimination Score SDS , and Tinnitus Handicap Inventory THI at pre-treatment T0 , and after 10th T1 and 20th sessions T2 of acupuncture. Results: Hearing loss evaluated according to the four-frequency pure-tone average PTA; 500, 1,000, 2,000, and 4,000 kHz showed a statistically significant improvement at the end of the 10th session of acupuncture p=0.017 . There was also a significant improvement in the PTA values of the worst three consecutive frequencies at the end of the 20th session p=0.034 . A significant improvement in SDS p=0.022 and THI p<0.001 was found at the end of the 20th session. Conclusion: Acupuncture treatment yields promising results in the improvement of PTA. The therapeutic effect of acupuncture is also evident in the treatment of tinnitus secondary to SNHL.

Keywords

• Acupuncture, salvage therapy, sudden sensorineural hearing loss, tinnitus, treatment

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