Acupuncture in treating sudden sensorineural hearing loss: a report of 2 cases.

BACKGROUND

Two cases of sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL) in left ear diagnosed by an ear, nose, and throat specialist are presented.

CASE REPORT: The first patient was a 22-year-old male college student with moderately severe hearing loss, tinnitus, and a feeling of fullness in the ear for 5 days. The other patient was a 48-year-old male pilot with severe hearing loss, tinnitus, and fullness in the ear for 7 days. Both patients did not respond to medical treatment, and the hearing loss became even worse. The patients were then treated with acupuncture 5 and 7 days, respectively, after hearing loss had developed. Electroacupuncture was applied to ear and neck once per day for both patients.

RESULTS

Fullness in ear disappeared during the first treatment in both cases, and the first patient also felt great improvement in hearing during the first treatment. After 10 treatments, the first patient had recovered. In the other patient, hearing had greatly improved after 19 treatments.

CONCLUSION

Acupuncture may be worth trying in patients with SSHL who do not respond to routine medical treatment.