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Acupuncture may be an effective supplementary treatment option for patients with olfactory loss.
2021 European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology Acupuncture is associated with a positive effect on odour discrimination in patients with postinfectious smell loss—a controlled prospective study Drews T, Hummel T, Rochlitzer B, Hauswald B, Hähner A
Randomised Controlled Trial Anosmia
Sixty patients with smell loss following infections of the upper respiratory tract were included in this investigation Half of the study group were randomly assigned to verum acupuncture and the other half to sham acupuncture Olfaction was measured by means of the “Sniffin’ Sticks” test battery (odour threshold, discrimination and identification).
Compared to sham acupuncture, verum was associated with an improvement of smell function as measured by the TDI score. The improvement was largely determined by improvement in odour discrimination, and was significantly better in patients with a shorter duration of the disorder.
Traditional Chinese acupuncture can potentially improve olfactory function in patients suffering from postviral olfactory dysfunction who don't respond well to standardized treatments.
2016 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Recovery of Olfactory Function in Postviral Olfactory Dysfunction Patients after Acupuncture Treatment Qi Dai, Zhihui Pang, Hongmeng Yu
Randomised Controlled Trial Anosmia
The study utilised a sample of 50 patients with postviral olfactory dysfunction, who found little to no relief with standardized treatments. These participants were split into two equal groups: one group was subjected to traditional Chinese acupuncture, while the other group served as an observation or control group, who received no new intervention. The researchers then applied subjective olfactory tests using the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test to measure the impact of acupuncture treatment on the participants' sense of smell.
The results indicated that 11 out of 25 patients who had undergone acupuncture therapy showed improved olfactory function compared to only four from the observation group. It was observed that there wasn't a significant difference in recovery rates based on factors such as age, gender, or duration of disease between both groups. However, findings indicated that patients whose sense of smell was weak (hyposmic) responded to acupuncture therapy better than those who had completely lost it (anosmic).