Acupuncture Treatment for Hearing Loss

October 2003

Last week we asked for readers' experiences with the use of acupuncture for treating hearing loss. We got two replies:

Warren Hanna - WTHanna@aol.com - who is a director of Hard of Hearing Advocates - http://www.hohadvocates.org/ - in Framingham, MA, provided the following account:

"Twenty five or more years ago, acupuncture was moving into the States. Along with it was the announcement that acupuncture MAY have helped certain school children with hearing loss in Japan.

"I first went to the VA to have my hearing tested. I then had 30 treatments. On two occasions I went to different companies offering acupuncture. They each differed from the other and from the base company I was dealing with.

"As it was being done and then when it was over, I felt positive my hearing had improved immensely. I then went back to the VA for another test. They advised me my hearing was no better.

"At the time, I felt they were lying to me but I couldn't understand why. Over time, I realized that they were right; my hearing really hadn't improved."

More on this and related topics

Jeff Palace offers a similar account:

"I tried several acupuncture sessions for both my sudden hearing loss and tinnitus about a year ago after reading that there was a specific acupuncture routine for hearing loss. Unfortunately my results reflected the general consensus of the medical community that there is no clinical evidence of hearing or tinnitus improvement that can be attributed to acupuncture. I would suspect that the power of suggestion more than anything else is probably responsible for any such reported benefits."