Is acupuncture an effective remedy for tinnitus? To answer this question, Jackson and colleagues – of the Northern College of Acupuncture – performed a study.
For purposes of this trial, six patients suffering from tinnitus participated. These patients were administered several acupuncture treatments in the course of two weeks. The patients were obligated to keep daily logs regarding their tinnitus symptoms.
The patients’ daily logs noted the following information:
- How loud is the tinnitus?
- Is the pitch high or low?
- How many hours each day are you affected by the tinnitus?
- How well did you sleep at night?
As a result of this study, the patients had different responses regarding reduction in loudness and pitch of the tinnitus. However, their responses regarding improved ability to sleep at night were more consistent. In addition, they consistently reported a reduction in the number of waking hours that they were affected by the tinnitus.
The authors of this study concluded that acupuncture may be an appropriate remedy for people suffering from tinnitus. Furthermore, they also found that acupuncture helps people with tinnitus sleep better at night and suffer less during the day.
This was published in Complementary Therapies in Medicine, March 2006.
