Acupuncture Therapy for Peripheral Vestibular Vertigo (with Suspected Ménière's Disease).

Background: Vertigo occurs in the balance system, both peripherally and centrally. Vertigo that occurs due to abnormalities in the peripheral balance system is called Case: Mrs. T.R., age 66, had episodic spinning dizziness for 18 months. Her dizziness recurred 3-4 times per month, and lasted ∼30 minutes to 2 hours. The dizziness was accompanied by cold sweating, but no nausea and vomiting. She also felt fullness in her right ear. A Rinne test was positive in both ears and a Weber test showed lateralization to the left. On a balance examination, the Fukuda stepping test showed 90° to the left. Her Vertigo Symptom Scale-Short Form (VSS-SF) score was 22. She was diagnosed with vestibular peripheral vertigo (Meniere's disease). Manual acupuncture therapy was performed 1-2 times per week at GV 20 ( Results: After 6 sessions of acupuncture therapy, this patient no longer experienced spinning dizziness and her score on the VSS-SF questionnaire was reduced to 4. Conclusions: This case report shows that acupuncture therapy was very helpful for a patient with peripheral vestibular vertigo. Acupuncture can be used to treat patients who have vertigo and contraindications to pharmacologic therapies, and can to reduce side-effects of pharmacologic therapies. Further investigation of acupuncture therapy for peripheral vertigo is warranted.