Disorders of the sense organs

Deaf-mute children were once extensively treated with acupuncture in China, but no methodologically sound reports have ever shown that acupuncture therapy had any real effectiveness. A recent randomized controlled clinical trial on sudden-onset deafness in adults favoured acupuncture treatment.

Acupuncture might be useful in the treatment of Ménière disease for relieving symptoms and also for reducing the frequency of attacks. It seems to be more effective than conventional drug therapy (betahistine, nicotinic acid and vitamin B6).

Tinnitus is often difficult to treat. Traditionally acupunture has been believed to be effective for treating tinnitus, but only two randomized controlled clinical trials are available-with inconsistent results.

Unexplained earache that is neither primary (due to ear disease) nor secondary (as referred pain), is often regarded as a manifestation of psychogenic disturbances. Acupuncture has been shown to be effective in this kind of earache in a placebo-controlled trial.

Acupuncture might be helpful in the treatment of simple epistaxis unassociated with generalized or local disease, but only one report of a randomized controlled clinical trial is available. This report indicates that auricular acupuncture provides a more satisfactory effect than conventional haemostatic medication.