Complete Recovery Following Electroacupuncture Therapy in Refractory Unilateral Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Role of electroacupuncture (EA) in refractory unilateral sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) remains unclear but might be promising for the Meniere's disease. Two cases of unilateral SNHL who were unresponsive to conventional treatment of sudden SNHL showed complete recovery after receiving EA therapy. The first case was a 46-year-old woman who received EA in the seventh month after the acute onset of sudden right hearing loss and tinnitus. She had mild-to-moderate degree of SNHL at high frequencies in the right ear with episodic vertigo. The second case was a 55-year-old woman who received EA in the sixth year after developing sudden SNHL in the right ear. Before the EA began, her pure tone average of the affected ear was 45 dB and the phonetically balanced score was 88%. The regimen for both patients included 12 sessions of EA over four weeks at the main acupoints (Tinggong (SI 19), Ermen (TE 21), Qimai (TE 18) and Yifeng (TE 17) on the affected ear and the adjuvant acupoints (Zhongzhu (TE 3), Hegu (LI 4), Qihai (CV 6), Guanyuan (CV 4), Taixi (KI 3), and Taichong (LIV 3)). Both patients regained their normal hearing thresholds three weeks after the first EA. No adverse events were observed. Hence, EA may be a useful additional therapy in unilateral SNHL, even at the late phase when other treatments have failed because the possibility of Meniere's disease cannot be excluded.