Department of Ophthalmology and Otorhinolaryngology, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
J Altern Complement Med. 2012 Jul;18(7):693-9. doi: 10.1089/acm.2011.0378. Epub 2012 Jul 2.
The aim of this study was to investigate the long-term effect of acupuncture for treatment of tinnitus.
This study is a randomized, patient- and assessor-blind, sham-acupuncture-controlled, pilot trial.
Participants were adults (18-60 years old) with chronic (≥6 months), unilateral tinnitus, and without moderate or severe hearing loss.
Thirty-three (33) participants were randomized to one of two treatment groups: real acupuncture and sham-acupuncture (nonmeridian; no specific response, de qi). Participants received 10 sessions of acupuncture treatment (twice a week for 5 weeks), and usual patient care education.
The subjective outcome was the score of Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) from baseline to 3 months after. Pure Tone Average (PTA) and Speech Discrimination (SD) from baseline to 3 months after were assessed as objective outcomes.
A significant interaction between time and group in VAS (p=0.017) was evident, but not in THI, PTA, and SD scores. THI showed significant improvement at the end of treatment and 3 months after, compared to baseline, in real acupuncture (p=0.004). In SD, a significant long-term effect of real acupuncture was observed until 3 months after (p=0.011). However, the effect of real acupuncture in PTA was not maintained until 3 months after the end of treatment. No significant difference in the sham-acupuncture treatment group was evident. No statistical difference in any outcome was observed between real and sham acupuncture. Only in the mean percent change of VAS, real acupuncture showed statistical significance, compared with sham-acupuncture from baseline to 3 months after (p=0.019).
Through evaluation of subjective (THI and VAS) and objective outcomes (PTA and SD), this study demonstrates the long-term effect of real acupuncture.
本研究旨在探讨针刺治疗耳鸣的长期疗效。
这是一项随机、患者和评估者盲法、假针刺对照的试验。
参与者为患有慢性（≥6 个月）、单侧耳鸣的成年人（18-60 岁），且无中度或重度听力损失。
33 名参与者被随机分为两组：真针刺组和假针刺组（非经非穴；无特定反应，无得气感）。参与者接受 10 次针刺治疗（每周两次，持续 5 周），并接受常规的患者教育。
主观结局是耳鸣残疾量表（THI）和视觉模拟量表（VAS）的评分，从基线到 3 个月后。客观结局评估为纯音听阈（PTA）和言语辨别率（SD），从基线到 3 个月后。
VAS 显示时间与组之间存在显著的交互作用（p=0.017），但 THI、PTA 和 SD 评分无显著差异。与基线相比，真针刺组在治疗结束和 3 个月后 THI 显著改善（p=0.004）。在 SD 中，真针刺的长期疗效显著，直到 3 个月后（p=0.011）。然而，真针刺在 PTA 中的疗效在治疗结束后 3 个月后并未维持。假针刺组无明显差异。真针刺和假针刺在任何结局上均无统计学差异。仅在 VAS 的平均百分比变化方面，真针刺组与假针刺组相比，从基线到 3 个月后具有统计学意义（p=0.019）。
通过主观（THI 和 VAS）和客观结局（PTA 和 SD）的评估，本研究表明真针刺具有长期疗效。
