Acupuncture Therapy for Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss
Key facts
- Where
- Shanghai, ChinaSee the site
Could this be for you?
Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.
- Are you between 18 and 70 years old?
Source: NCT07575334, who can take part
Where in China
- Eye and ENT Hospital of Fudan UniversityShanghai, ChinaContact: Weiming Hao, MDTaking people
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations
Print a page for my doctorTrial details
- Who runs it
- Eye & ENT Hospital of Fudan University
- Trial code
- NCT07575334
- Record updated
- 8 May 2026
- Original description
The goal of this multicenter, prospective, randomized controlled trial is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture combined with corticosteroid therapy in treating sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL). The main questions it aims to answer are:Read full original descriptionShow less
Acupuncture Combined With Glucocorticoids Therapy for Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss：A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial
The goal of this multicenter, prospective, randomized controlled trial is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture combined with corticosteroid therapy in treating sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL). The main questions it aims to answer are:
Does acupuncture combined with corticosteroids improve hearing recovery (pure tone audiometry, PTA) at 8 weeks compared with sham acupuncture combined with corticosteroids? Does this treatment improve secondary outcomes, including tinnitus, dizziness, sleep quality, anxiety, and quality of life? Researchers will compare acupuncture (experimental group) with sham acupuncture (control group) to determine the added therapeutic effect of acupuncture.
Participants will:
1. Receive either real acupuncture or sham acupuncture 3 times per week for 4 weeks. 2. Meanwhile, take oral prednisone (1 mg/kg/day, maximum 60 mg/day) for 7 days followed by a 7-day taper. 3. Undergo hearing tests (PTA, word recognition scores), vestibular function tests, and complete validated questionnaires (SF-36, HADS, ISI, DHI, THI, and TCM symptom scales) at baseline and weeks 1, 2, 4, 8, and 12. 4. Receive salvage intratympanic steroid injections if hearing does not improve sufficiently by day 14.
Inclusion: Age between 18 and 70 years; Meets the diagnostic criteria for sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL): sudden, unexplained sensorineural hearing loss occurring within 72 hours, with a hearing threshold decrease of ≥30 dB in at least three consecutive frequencies among 250, 500, 1000, 2000, 4000, and 8000 Hz (reference: previous audiologic examination or same frequencies of the contralateral ear); Unilateral SSNHL with self-perceived symmetrical hearing in both ears prior to the current episode (or supported by previous audiologic examination reports); Time from symptom onset to enrollment and treatment initiation within 14 days; Clear consciousness and logical responses, able to understand the scale items and complete the assessments; Agrees to participate in the trial and signs a written informed consent form.
Exclusion: History of hearing abnormality (affected ear) or balance dysfunction prior to the current episode (including previous SSNHL, vestibular migraine, Meniere's disease, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, congenital/hereditary/syphilitic hearing loss, otosclerosis, etc.); Received systemic or local corticosteroid therapy for 10 days or more prior to enrollment; Received acupuncture treatment within the past 12 months; Identifiable definite etiology after complete examination, including acoustic neuroma, cerebrovascular accident, trauma, Hunt syndrome, etc; Presence of diseases for which systemic corticosteroid therapy is clinically not recommended (e.g., poorly controlled or insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, history of peptic ulcer, active infection or tuberculosis, history of hepatitis B or C, pancreatitis, severe osteoporosis, osteonecrosis, etc.); Presence of other diseases (e.g., severe skin disorders) that preclude completion of acupuncture treatment; Presence of severe organ dysfunction; Pregnant or breastfeeding women; Other reasons deemed by the investigator as unsuitable for participation in this clinical study (e.g., high anticipated difficulty in completing follow-up, obvious low compliance, etc.).