SynthesisPloS one2016
Electroacupuncture for Tinnitus: A Systematic Review.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 33 citations in OpenAlex.
- The interventional effect of acupuncture on overall cognitive function in Alzheimer's disease spectrum disorders: A meta-analysis.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2026Pooled it
- Guideline
- Effects of acupuncture on the outcome of tinnitus: An overview of systematic reviews.Frontiers in neurology · 2022Pooled it
- Investigation of the Effectiveness of Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation (taVNS) and Vestibular Rehabilitation in Patients with Unilateral Vestibular Hypofunction.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Trial
- Trial
- A comparative study on the effects of systemic manual acupuncture, periauricular electroacupuncture, and digital electroacupuncture to treat tinnitus: A randomized, paralleled, open-labeled exploratory trial.BMC complementary and alternative medicine · 2017Trial
- Combination of Electroacupuncture and Medication for Patients With Tinnitus Associated With Idiopathic Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss: Protocol for a Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
- Peripheral-central correlation study of acupuncture for chronic tinnitus study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Evaluating the Efficacy and Underlying Mechanisms of Acupuncture for Chronic Subjective Tinnitus Using Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of pain research · 2023Article
- Comparative Efficacy of Different Acupuncture-Related Therapies for Primary Tinnitus: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis Protocol.Journal of pain research · 2023Article
- Verification EVestG recordings are vestibuloacoustic signals.Laryngoscope investigative otolaryngology · 2022Article
- The Efficacy and Safety of Acupuncture for Tinnitus-Associated Insomnia: A Protocol for a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of pain research · 2022Article
- Analysis of Factors Influencing the Efficiency of Acupuncture in Tinnitus Patients.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2019Article
- Article
- Electroacupuncture for migraine protocol for a systematic review of controlled trials.Medicine · 2018Article
- Manipulation of Auditory Inputs as Rehabilitation Therapy for Maladaptive Auditory Cortical Reorganization.Neural plasticity · 2018Review
- The Effects of Yoga in Patients Suffering from Subjective Tinnitus.International archives of otorhinolaryngology · 2018Article
- Broadened population-level frequency tuning in the auditory cortex of tinnitus patients.Journal of neurophysiology · 2017Article
- Electroacupuncture is Beneficial for Primary Dysmenorrhea: The Evidence from Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTreatment effects of electroacupuncture for patients with subjective tinnitus has yet to be clarified.
objectivesTo assess the effect of electroacupuncutre for alleviating the symptoms of subjective tinnitus.
methodsExtensive literature searches were carried out in three English and four Chinese databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, CNKI, Wanfang Chinese Digital Periodical and Conference Database, VIP, and ChiCTR).The date of the most recent search was 1 June 2014. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or quasi-RCTs were included. The titles, abstracts, and keywords of all records were reviewed by two authors independently. The data were collected and extracted by three authors. The risk of bias in the trials was assessed in accordance with the Cochrane Handbook, version 5.1.0. (http://www.handbook.cochrane.org). Eighty-nine studies were retrieved. After discarding 84 articles, five studies with 322 participants were identified. Assessment of the methodological quality of the studies identified weaknesses in all five studies. All studies were judged as having a high risk of selection and performance bias. The attrition bias was high in four studies. Incompleteness bias was low in all studies. Reporting bias was unclear in all studies. Because of the limited number of trials included and the various types of interventions and outcomes, we were unable to conduct pooled analyses.
conclusionsDue to the poor methodological quality of the primary studies and the small sample sizes, no convincing evidence that electroacupuncture is beneficial for treating tinnitus could be found. There is an urgent need for more high-quality trials with large sample sizes for the investigation of electroacupuncture treatment for tinnitus.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.