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This randomised controlled trial investigated whether electroacupuncture could help people suffering from subjective tinnitus — a condition characterised by perceived sound with no external source — which frequently disrupts sleep and emotional wellbeing. Ninety patients aged 18 to 65 were enrolled at a single centre and allocated in a two-to-one ratio to receive either real electroacupuncture or sham acupuncture using non-penetrating needles. Both groups completed twenty treatment sessions across seven weeks.
Patients receiving electroacupuncture showed significantly greater reductions in Tinnitus Handicap Inventory scores — a standard measure of how much tinnitus interferes with daily life — compared to the sham group. These improvements were sustained across a three-month follow-up period. Electroacupuncture also produced meaningful gains in sleep quality and emotional health, as measured by validated questionnaires for anxiety and depression.
Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans revealed that electroacupuncture reduced activity levels in the insula, a brain region involved in sensory processing and emotional regulation. The degree of change in insula activity was positively correlated with improvements in anxiety and depression scores, offering a plausible neurological explanation for the observed benefits. Sham acupuncture did not produce comparable brain or clinical changes.
Conclusion: This trial provides evidence that electroacupuncture significantly reduces subjective tinnitus severity and improves sleep and mood, with brain imaging suggesting the insula and emotion-related neural circuits may underlie its therapeutic effects.
Source: Zhang Y, Liu W, Ye Z and colleagues. Complementary therapies in medicine (2026). View on PubMed (PMID 42191050) · doi:10.1016/j.ctim.2026.103391
