{"id":337,"date":"2016-09-02T14:06:49","date_gmt":"2016-09-02T21:06:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fuelvet.com\/~easttexa\/?p=337"},"modified":"2022-09-14T14:51:24","modified_gmt":"2022-09-14T19:51:24","slug":"acupuncture-hearing-loss-does-really-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enttyler.com\/acupuncture-hearing-loss-does-really-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Acupuncture and Hearing Loss\u2026does it Really work?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Acupuncture has been around for centuries and has spread to most parts of the world. As audiologists, we hear of the procedure, maybe even know patients who undergo the procedure, but don\u2019t hear much about the specifics of how it is conducted or of its actual benefits. The procedure has been credited as a treatment for many diseases, including asthma, back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, fibromyalgia, mild headaches, migraine headaches, osteoarthritis, sciatica, stroke, and nausea. Some have even claimed that acupuncture can cure deafness and hearing loss. Such claims are of interest to audiologists. We ask, does it really work for the treatment of hearing impairment or is it a scam?<\/p>\n\n\n

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For the next couple of weeks, Hearing International will look at the evidence of how and if this procedure could possibly be of benefit as a treatment for hearing impairment. Before we can understand its benefits or non-benefits, it\u2019s necessary to take this week to look at what acupuncture really is, where it came from, and how it works.
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According to Sciamarella (2011), acupuncture is just one of the elements that make up traditional Chinese medicine. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a combination of physical, mental, and spiritual practices that include techniques such as massage therapy and acupuncture, along with herbal medicine and various forms of mind-body exercise. The American Academy of Medical Acupuncture (2011) defines the procedure as a method of encouraging the body to promote natural healing and to improve functioning. Acupuncture involves inserting needles and precisely applying heat or electrical stimulation at acupuncture points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the United State and many other countries acupuncturists are independently licensed healthcare practitioners. Often physicians who obtain additional training and qualification in acupuncture are allowed to perform acupuncture within the scope of their license to practice medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n

Where Did Acupuncture Come From?<\/h2>\n\n
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Sciamarella (2011) reports that the earliest known source of information on acupuncture comes from a text called the Huang Di Nei Jing, or Yellow Emperor\u2019s Inner Classic, which is believed to have originated as early as the second century BC. Fundamentally, the Nei Jing regarded the human body as a miniature representation of the universe as a whole and taught that a state of health could be achieved by balancing the body\u2019s internal environment with the external environment of the entire universe. Sciamarella further says that the earliest European reports of acupuncture come from Jesuit missionaries in the 16th and 17th centuries and the word acupuncture was actually coined by French Jesuits, from the Latin acus (needle) and punctura (puncture).
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It is also widely believed that acupuncture may have actually been very familiar to ancient Europeans. The mummified remains of the so-called \u201cAustrian Iceman,\u201d who is now known as Oetzi, were found in the Italian Alps in 1991. The mummy is believed to be over 5,000 years old. A series of tattoos was discovered on Oetzi\u2019s body, which correspond to the locations of traditional acupuncture points still in use today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently, it is estimated that about 8,000 nonphysicians and 1,500 physicians are practicing acupuncture in the United States. ICART (2011) suggests that internationally there are over 80 societies and 30,000 physicians that practice acupuncture.<\/p>\n\n\n

How does Acupuncture work?<\/h2>\n\n\n

Believe it or not there is a web site called \u201cwww.howdoesacupuncturework.com,\u201d which offer two general descriptions of how acupuncture works. One is the traditional Chinese medicine discussion and the other is the western scientific explanation.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is an integrated system, which has been used for thousands of years to treat injury and illness. Acupuncture forms one of the key components to the TCM approach to curing disease and disorders of the body. HDAW (2011) describes the TCM system of medicine as the body having a delicate balance of two opposing and inseparable forces: Yin and Yang. The Yin represents the cold, slow, or passive principle, while the Yang represents the hot, excited, or active principle. TCM likens the human body to a highly complex electrical circuit. Like any electrical circuit it must be kept in good working order if it is to function effectively; if the circuit breaks down, the result is illness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the major assumptions in TCM are that health is achieved by maintaining the body in a \u201cbalanced state\u201d and that disease is due to an internal imbalance of Yin and Yang. This imbalance leads to blockage in the flow of qi (pronounced \u201cchee\u201d, meaning vital energy) along pathways known as meridians. TCM theorizes that it is essential for qi, as well as blood, to circulate in a continuous and unobstructed manner for good health of the mind and body. Acupuncture meridians or channels are the pathways through which the energy flows throughout the body. Acupuncture points lie along the meridians and are the holes that allow entry into the acupuncture meridians. The acupuncture points provide gateways to influence, redirect, increase, or decrease body\u2019s vital substances, qi (energy) & blood, thus correcting many of the body\u2019s imbalances. The theoretical concepts on which Traditional Chinese Medicine is based can be divided into 5 areas. These can be summarized as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n