Database: Study 6 of 41 studies               Database The inner ear – deafness and hyperacusis - EA First author and date Fairbanks DNF 1974 Version consulted C Condition hearing loss Study type review N / Groupings 66 patients (123 ears) Type of acupuncture MA, EA, indirect moxibustion Points used 3-6 points around pinna, sometimes with supplementary points in coronal scalp, hands, wrists and feet Parameters used no details Stimulation duration ~30 mins Number of sessions courses of 10 treatments, daily or on alternate days, are usual Follow up no details Endpoint measure audiograms retrieved on patients undergoing acupuncture in any centres in Washington, DC; ‘meaningful’ change: >10 dB reception threshold for speeech or pure tone Outcome as a treatment for deafness, acupuncture appears to have had disappointing results; no patient experienced >10 dB of improvement, but 2 suffered >10 dB of deterioration in 1 ear; 1 patient appeared to improve in discrimination, while speech reception deteriorated Additional notes expense of longterm treatment led to most patients not completing courses Analysis / problems problems inherent in retrospective investigations; most studies did not employ audiograms (and, if so, not always following consistent methods); Chinese studies unlikely to have employed audiograms References Fairbanks DNF, Wallenberg EA, Webb BM Acupuncture for hearing loss. A study of patients treated in Washington, DC. Archives of Otolaryngology. 1974 June; 99(6): 395-401 Secondary references - Data entry code DM/J223