Efficacy and Central Mechanism of Acupuncture for Treating Chronic Subjective Tinnitus Assessed by fNIRS

Efficacy and Central Mechanism of Acupuncture for Treating Chronic Subjective Tinnitus Assessed by fNIRS: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial

This randomized controlled pilot trial aims to explore the Efficacy and central mechanism of acupuncture for treating chronic subjective tinnitus using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS).

A total of 60 tinnitus patients were randomly assigned to either an acupuncture group or a waiting list group in a 1:1 ratio. Subjects in the acupuncture group will undergo 4-week acupuncture treatment, while subjects in the waiting list group will receive no treatment during the 4 weeks.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Bilateral tinnitus that meets the diagnostic criteria for chronic subjective tinnitus.
2. Male and female, Aged between 18 and 60 years.
3. Participants can cooperate with experimental procedures and sign written inform consent.
4. Not participating in other clinical trials concurrently.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Participants with objective tinnitus
2. Participants have nervous system diseases or neuropsychiatric diseases that can significantly affect brain blood oxygen metabolism assessed by resting-state functional connectivity.
3. Participants with severe cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, malignant liver and kidney diseases, and other serious diseases.
4. Participants have any contraindications for acupuncture (such as a bleeding tendency)
5. Pregnant or lactating women.
6. Participants have received tinnitus treatment with drugs or other therapies in the last four weeks.