ABSTRACT
Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of acupuncture and miuci therapy combined with Qinggan Tongqiao Decoction for sudden sensor-neural hearing loss (SSHL) and the effects on level of plasma endothelin (ET) and serum nitrate oxide (NO). Methods Totally 110 patients with SSHL were randomly divided into treatment group and control group, with 55 patients in each group. The control group was given Qinggan Tongqiao Decoction combined with acupuncture routine treatment, and treatment group was given miuci therapy on the basis of the control group, two weeks as a course of two groups. Level changes of plasma ET and serum NO, and pure tone listening threshold changes before and after treatment were observed. Tinnitus and hearing efficacy was evaluated. Results The total effective rate for tinnitus efficacy was 94.54% (52/55) in the treatment group and 85.45% (47/55) in the control group, with statistical significance (u=2.038, P=0.040). The total effective rate for hearing efficacy was 96.46%(53/55) in the treatment group and 81.82% (45/55) in the control group, with statistical significance (u=2.913, P=0.040). Compared with before treatment, the level of plasma ET decreased and the level of serum NO increased after the treatment (P<0.05); After the treatment, the level of plasma ET in the treatment was lower than the control group, and the level of serum NO in the treatment group was higher than the control group (P<0.05). Pure tone threshold scores in the two groups on treatment 3, 7, 14 d were significantly improved (P<0.05), and pure tone threshold scores in the treatment group were significantly lower than the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion Acupuncture and miuci therapy combined with Qinggan Tongqiao Decoction can significantly reduce clinical symptoms and enhance the hearing level of SSHL patients. The mechanism mainly lies in regulating levels of plasma ET and serum NO, and improving the inner ear micro-circulation.