Tinnitus and acupuncture

Name of treatment	Acupuncture
Type of treatment	Physical intervention
Claims for treatment	Reduces/eliminates the tinnitus percept.
How treatment is delivered	Acupuncture needles which are inserted at points on the body.
Potential negative consequences	Risk of infection transmission.[1]
Evidence offered:
Papers available	35 (as per systematic review, includes electroacupuncture[2])
Conclusions drawn	English studies reported negative results. Whilst the Chinese studies in the review seemed to indicate some relief from tinnitus could be found, many of these studies had methodological flaws [2]
Quality of evidence[3]	A
Does the BTA recommend this treatment?	No
BTA opinion on this treatment:	There is no evidence that this treatment is effective.
Would the BTA support further studies into this treatment?	Yes, if high quality study
Verdict: Safety - is this treatment harmful?	Limited potential for harm
Verdict: Efficacy - does this treatment work?	No evidence of effect

[1] Xu S, Wang L, Cooper E, Zhang M, Manheimer E, Berman B, Shen X, Lao L. Adverse events of acupuncture: a systematic review of case reports. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2013: 1–15. doi:10.1155/2013/581203. PMC 3616356. PMID 23573135.

[2] Liu F, Han X, Li Y, Yu S. Acupuncture in the treatment of tinnitus: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2016 Feb;273(2):285-94. doi: 10.1007/s00405-014-3341-7. Epub 2014 Oct 25.

[3] A = Systematic review/meta analysis. B = Randomised control studies. C = Cohort studies. D = Case control studies. E = case studies/reports. +/- to be used to indicate quality within bands

Download this information:

Tinnitus_and_acupuncture_June_2019.pdf

Updated 11 June 2019

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