Table 3.
Comparison between two groups of patients who received different acupuncture treatments for tinnitus.
| Characteristics | PA group | PADA group | P value |
|---|---|---|---|
| (n = 38) | (n = 69) | ||
| Sex (female/male ratio) | 1.24 | 1.23 | 1 |
| Age (more than 65) | 9 (23.68%) | 28 (40.58%) | 0.092 |
| BMI∗ | 23.28 ± 2.93 | 23.63 ± 3.34 | 0.471 |
| Affected side (bilateral) | 18 (47.378%) | 40 (57.97%) | 0.317 |
| Duration of tinnitus (longer than 3 months) | 29 (76.31%) | 54 (78.26%) | 0.813 |
| History of nasopharyngeal carcinoma | 1 (2.63%) | 4 (5.80%) | 0.654 |
| History of radiotherapy | 2 (5.26%) | 6 (8.70%) | 0.709 |
| Ear drum perforation | 1 (2.63%) | 1 (1.45%) | 1 |
| Chronic otitis media | 0 | 4 (5.80%) | 0.295 |
| Cigarette smoking | 6 (15.79%) | 12 (17.39%) | 1 |
| Alcohol drinking | 5 (13.16%) | 6 (8.70%) | 0.515 |
| Betel nut chewing | 3 (7.89%) | 2 (2.90%) | 0.345 |
| Anemia† | 8 (21.62%) | 11 (17.19%) | 0.605 |
| Thyroid dysfunction‡ | 0 | 5 (8.47%) | 0.158 |
| Hypertriglyceridemia§ | 4 (11.11%) | 14 (21.88%) | 0.278 |
| Hypercholesterolemia|| | 14 (38.89%) | 33 (51.56%) | 0.297 |
| Syphilis¶ | 1 (2.78%) | 0 | 0.371 |
| Diabetes mellitus# | 7 (18.92%) | 12 (17.65%) | 1 |
| Insomnia | 20 (52.63%) | 33 (47.83%) | 0.689 |
| Cerebrovascular accident∗∗ | 3 (8.11%) | 5 (7.25%) | 1 |
| Acupuncture sessions(≥17) | 14 (36.8%) | 30 (43.5%) | 0.544 |
|
| |||
| Audiometry, left side†† | |||
| 500 Hz, dBnHL | 17.16 ± 13.57 | 15.67 ± 12.82 | 0.579 |
| 1000 Hz, dBnHL | 22.84 ± 18.20 | 19.10 ± 15.07 | 0.265 |
| 2000 Hz, dBnHL | 28.11 ± 21.19 | 22.31 ± 18.10 | 0.145 |
| 4000 Hz, dBnHL | 42.97 ± 24.25 | 35.15 ± 22.56 | 0.102 |
| 8000 Hz, dBnHL | 54.32 ± 28.65 | 45.98 ± 24.86 | 0.125 |
| PB score, % | 96.0 ± 9.61 | 96.66 ± 8.37 | 0.717 |
| Audiometry, right side†† | |||
| 500 Hz, dBnHL | 16.49 ± 13.17 | 16.57 ± 17.15 | 0.980 |
| 1000 Hz, dBnHL | 20.95 ± 16.74 | 19.25 ± 20.27 | 0.666 |
| 2000 Hz, dBnHL | 24.86 ± 17.30 | 23.13 ± 21.56 | 0.676 |
| 4000 Hz, dBnHL | 39.73 ± 23.18 | 35.22 ± 25.01 | 0.369 |
| 8000 Hz, dBnHL | 51.89 ± 28.66 | 45.08 ± 27.95 | 0.250 |
| PB score, % | 95.89 ± 13.54 | 92.90 ± 21.18 | 0.438 |
BMI: body mass index; PA: periauricular acupoints; PADA: periauricular acupoints + distal acupoints; dBnHL: decibel above normal hearing level; PB: phonetically balanced.
∗One piece of missing data of BMI (n = 106).
†Six pieces of missing data in the group of anemia (n = 101).
‡Sixteen pieces of missing data in the group of thyroid dysfunction (n = 91).
§Seven pieces of missing data in the group of hypertriglyceridemia (n = 100).
||Seven pieces of missing data in the group of hypercholesterolemia (n = 100).
¶Ten pieces of missing data in the group of syphilis (n = 97).
#Two pieces of missing data in the group of diabetes (n = 105).
∗∗One piece of missing data in the group of cerebrovascular accident (n = 106).
††Three pieces of missing data of audiometry (n = 104).