While there is clear evidence that acupuncture is efficacious in providing pain relief and treating certain conditions such as nausea, many of its effects have yet to be fully explained within the framework of the Western system of medicine. While there is a wealth of anecdotal evidence showing that acupuncture may indeed be an effective way of treating tinnitus, it will not be recognized as such by consumers and health insurers until appropriate scientific studies have been conducted. References Park J, White A, Ernst E. Efficacy of acupuncture as a treatment for tinnitus. A systematic review. In this design, patients serve as their own controls.
Randomization is used to determine the order in which a patient receives the treatment and control.
The Jadad method is used to measure the validity of clinical trials. Studies are awarded one point each in the categories of randomization, blinding, and description of withdrawals and dropouts. Additional points can be awarded or deducted based on the types of randomization and blinding used. The maximum possible score is five points. Felner H. Idiopathic subjective tinnitus treated by biofeedback, acupuncture and drug therapy.