Clinical Study on Acupuncture with Santong Balance Method for Idiopathic Tinnitus Complicated with Mild-to-Moderate Anxiety Disorder of Kidney-Essence Depletion Type
Abstract: Objective: To observe the clinical effect of acupuncture with Santong balance method on idiopathic tinnitus complicated with mild-to-moderate anxiety disorder of kidney-essence depletion type. Methods: A total of 60 patients with idiopathic tinnitus complicated with mild- to- moderate anxiety disorder of kidney- essence depletion type were included into the study and randomly divided into the control group and the treatment group,with 30 cases in each group. The control group was given routine acupuncture therapy, and the treatment group was treated with acupuncture with Santong balance method. With 4 weeks as 1 course of treatment , the two groups were treated 3 times each week for 4 weeks. Before treatment and after 1 course of treatment, the Tinnitus Evaluation Questionnaire (TEQ) was used to evaluate the severity of tinnitus, and Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA) to the anxiety; the clinical effects were compared between the two groups. Results:After 1 course of treatment,the clinical effect in the treatment group was better than that in the control group (P<0.05). There were significant differences being found in the comparisons of the 6 scores of environment in which tinnitus occurs, duration of tinnitus,impact of tinnitus on sleep,impact of tinnitus on life and work,impact of tinnitus on emotions, and patients' general feelings about tinnitus and the total TEQ scores in the two groups with those before treatment (P<0.05). There were significant differences being found in the comparisons of the scores of impacts of tinnitus on sleep and emotions with the total TEQ scores in both groups (P<0.05),and there was no significant difference being found in the comparison of the remaining 4 scores (P>0.05). There were significant differences being found in the comparisons of the scores of psychic anxiety and somatic anxiety and the total HAMA scores in both groups with those before treatment (P<0.05). After treatment, there were significant differences being found in the comparisons of the scores of psychic anxiety with the total HAMA scores in both groups (P<0.05); there was no significant difference being found in the comparison of scores of somatic anxiety in the two groups (P>0.05). Conclusion: The adoption of acupuncture with Santong balance method can effectively mitigate the tinnitus and improve the anxiety of patients with idiopathic tinnitus complicated with mild- to- moderate anxiety disorder of kidney- essence depletion type with good safety,and its curative effect is better than that of routine acupuncture.