Acupuncture offers relief for tinnitus in middle-aged and older patients, CUHK study finds
A clinical study by CUHK's Chinese Medicine College found electroacupuncture and combined warm-needle acupuncture significantly reduce tinnitus loudness in patients aged 50–70. The treatment showed clinical utility and safety as a supplementary therapy for middle-aged and older tinnitus sufferers.
A clinical study commissioned by Pok Oi Hospital and conducted by the Chinese Medicine College of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) has found that electroacupuncture and electroacupuncture combined with warm-needle acupuncture can significantly reduce tinnitus loudness in patients aged 50 to 70, alleviating the condition's impact on daily life. The results have been published in an international academic journal.
The study, carried out from December 2022 to April 2024, recruited 90 patients aged 50 to 70 who had experienced tinnitus for between two weeks and 24 months. Participants were evenly divided into three groups. Two groups received either electroacupuncture or a combination of electroacupuncture and warm-needle acupuncture over five weeks, totalling 10 sessions. The third group served as a control and received no acupuncture treatment during the study period.
At the end of the fifth week of treatment, patients in the two acupuncture groups reported tinnitus loudness scores that were significantly lower than those of the control group—by 1.91 points and 1.81 points, respectively. Follow-up assessments in the fifth week showed that the improvements were sustained and even increased. More than half of the participants in the two acupuncture groups saw their tinnitus severity improve from 'moderate' to 'mild'. In contrast, patients in the control group experienced worsening tinnitus loudness and life-disruption scores over the 10-week observation period.
Researchers stated that the findings confirm the acupuncture treatment model has high clinical utility and safety, and can serve as a supplementary treatment option for middle-aged and older patients with tinnitus.
The team noted that approximately 14.4 per cent of adults worldwide experience some degree of tinnitus. CUHK previously estimated that 200,000 people in Hong Kong suffer from moderate to severe tinnitus, which can cause sleep disorders and affect daily life and work.