ArticleTrials2018
Comparison of the effectiveness between transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, manual acupuncture, and electroacupuncture on tinnitus: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.
Article in Trials, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 2 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
10 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 25 citations in OpenAlex.
- Treatment approaches, outcomes and prognostic indicators in patients with tinnitus and temporomandibular disorders evaluated with DC/TMD: A systematic review and Meta-analysis.Journal of oral rehabilitation · 2025Pooled it
- Acupuncture therapy for radiotherapy-induced adverse effect: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2022Pooled it
- Influence of Acupuncture on Autonomic Balance in Adult Tinnitus Patients: An Exploratory Study.Current medical science · 2019Trial
- A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation for Patients With Acute Tinnitus.Medicine · 2019Trial
- The Effect of Acupuncture along with Conventional Therapies on the Treatment of Allergic Rhinitis: A Clinical Trial.Advanced biomedical research · 2025Article
- Electroacupuncture pretreatment alleviates myocardial injury through regulating mitochondrial function.European journal of medical research · 2020Article
- Comparing the effects of manual acupuncture, electroacupuncture, and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation on chronic tinnitus: a randomized controlled trial.Integrative medicine research · 2020Article
- Article
- Acupuncture Treatment in Patients with Chronic Subjective Tinnitus: A Prospective, Randomized Study.Medical acupuncture · 2020Article
- Effect of TEAS combined with general anesthesia on early postoperative cognitive function in elderly patients undergoing single-port thoracoscopic lobectomy.Pakistan journal of medical sciencesArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTranscutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) involves a neuromodulatory effect using electrical stimulation and has been widely used due to its safety and convenience. It has been used for treating tinnitus for decades. Acupuncture has also been used for tinnitus and several research studies have shown that acupuncture can improve a certain kind of tinnitus by stimulating the somatosensory system. Moreover, several studies have shown the efficacy of electroacupuncture, which is a combination of acupuncture and electrical stimulation, for tinnitus. However, the comparative effectiveness of TENS, manual acupuncture, and electroacupuncture for the treatment of tinnitus has not been determined previously. Herein, we design a randomized, non-blind clinical trial to investigate and compare the effects and safety of TENS, manual acupuncture, and electroacupuncture for tinnitus.
methodsAfter screening, 45 patients are randomly assigned to three groups: (1) patients in the TENS group are treated at four sites (tender points of masseter and the sternocleidomastoid muscle, in front of tragus, and mastoid process); (2) the manual acupuncture group patients are treated at 11 acupoints (TE21, SI19, GB2, TE22, ST7, TE17, GB20 of tinnitus affected side, and GB20, TE05, KI3 of both sides); (3) electroacupuncture group patients are treated by using acupuncture as in the manual acupuncture group and electrical stimulation at TE21, SI19, TE17, and GB20. Patients are treated for ten sessions, twice a week. The primary outcome measurement is the change of Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) score between visit 1 and visit 10. The secondary outcome measurements are the response rate of THI, change in visual analogue scale associated with the loudness and annoyance of tinnitus, pure-tone audiometry and speech discrimination, and changes in parameters of heart rate variability. DISCUSSION: The purpose of this study is to compare the effect of TENS, manual acupuncture, and electroacupuncture in the auricular area on tinnitus. If the specific treatment shows a significant effect compared to other treatments, it could have potential for use in clinical practice as a primary treatment.
trial registrationClinical Research Information Service (CRIS), KCT0002117 . Registered October 21, 2016. Retrospectively registered.
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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.