Evidence suggests that acupuncture can alleviate tinnitus symptoms and improve the anxiety associated with tinnitus, but the relationship between these outcomes is unclear. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture for tinnitus with anxiety using a meta-analysis.
✦ The floor
Discussion
Signed responses from readers of the wire.
Acupuncture may modestly reduce tinnitus severity and co-occurring anxiety, but audiologists should interpret this cautiously given the methodological limitations typical of acupuncture RCTs; it does not replace established tinnitus management approaches such as sound therapy or CBT.
Tinnitus affects hundreds of millions globally and co-occurs frequently with anxiety, yet evidence-based treatment options remain limited; a systematic review on acupuncture adds to the landscape of adjunctive therapies under investigation but does not yet shift standard-of-care.
- 01Systematic review and meta-analysis of acupuncture trials for tinnitus with comorbid anxiety.
- 02Acupuncture was assessed as both a standalone and adjunctive treatment for tinnitus.
- 03Tinnitus and anxiety are frequently co-occurring conditions, complicating outcome measurement.
- 04Published in Frontiers in Neurology (2026); methodology follows PRISMA/meta-analysis standards.
- 05Evidence quality in acupuncture trials is typically limited by blinding challenges and heterogeneity.
Acupuncture is efficacious for alleviating tinnitus symptoms in patients with comorbid anxiety.
studypartially supportedAcupuncture reduces anxiety symptoms in patients with tinnitus.
studypartially supported- PMID
- 42839938
- DOI
- 10.3389/fneur.2026.1920000.
- Journal
- Frontiers in Neurology
- Publication type
- meta_analysis
- Evidence level
- 1a
- Population
- Adults with tinnitus and comorbid anxiety
- Intervention
- Acupuncture (standalone or adjunctive)
- Comparator
- Sham acupuncture, usual care, or waitlist control (typical for this literature)
Primary outcomes
Tinnitus severity; Anxiety symptom scores