Research Progress in the Prevention and Treatment of Sensorineural Hearing Loss with Traditional Chinese Medicine

The prevention and treatment of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) have become a major challenge in the field of audiology. Modern medicine primarily focuses on preventing SNHL by avoiding causative factors (reducing ototoxic drug use, noise protection, etc.), whereas treatments mainly rely on hearing aids, cochlear implants, and symptomatic drug therapy, which have certain limitations. The traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) system, centered on syndrome differentiation and treatment, demonstrates unique potential and advantages in preventive hearing protection, improving auditory function, and reducing adverse reactions. TCM theory posits that SNHL has “the kidney governing the ears” as its core etiology and pathogenesis and is related to dysfunction of multiple organs, such as the liver, heart, lung, and stomach. Clinically effective TCM methods for preventing and treating SNHL include: Chinese herbal monomers and extracts such as puerarin, tetramethylpyrazine, Ginkgo biloba extract, Tanshinone IIA, and silymarin, which primarily act through mechanisms like improving inner ear microcirculation, antioxidant, antiapoptotic, and anti-inflammatory effects; Chinese herbal formulas such as Erlong Zuoci Pills, Fucong Tablets, Tongqi Powder, and Wuling Powder, which have shown efficacy in delaying presbycusis and treating sudden deafness, with mechanisms involving regulation of cell apoptosis, autophagy, antioxidant effects, and improving inner ear microcirculation; nonpharmacological therapies like acupuncture and massage, by selecting acupoints around the ear and distant sites to dredge meridians and harmonize qi and blood, are applied in the treatment of sudden deafness of qi stagnation and blood stasis pattern and show synergistic effects.