An Investigation of Acupuncture and Hypnosis as Treatments for Tinnitus

Abstract

Tinnitus affects approximately 50 million people in the United States (U.S.) and can be a challenging problem to address. Many treatments for tinnitus have been proposed, including acupuncture and hypnosis. Efficacy studies regarding these two treatments for tinnitus have either failed to show a positive effect of treatment or have suffered from significant design flaws. This project aimed to determine the attitudes and practice patterns of acupuncturists and hypnotists regarding their treatments in tinnitus management as well as to determine the attitudes of audiologists and otologists about these treatments. Acupuncturists, hypnotists, audiologists, and otologists anonymously completed surveys via Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap). The results of the surveys suggested that there is likely a wide range of opinions and practice patterns by professionals who offer acupuncture and/or hypnosis for the treatment of tinnitus and that a majority of audiologists and otologists who responded would recommend or might recommend these treatments for tinnitus.