A Prospective Analysis of the Association Between Sexual Dysfunction and Idiopathic Sensorineural Hearing Loss in Men.

Objective: The aim was to investigate the relationship between idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSHL) and male sexual dysfunction (SD). Methods: Nineteen ISSHL patients were included in the patient group. The control group consisted of nineteen healthy subjects. The pure tone mean (PTM) was determined by averaging the hearing thresholds (250, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 4,000, and 8,000 Hz). Male SD was assessed using the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF)-5 survey. IIEF-5 items are grouped as the first 4 (IIEF-5Q1-Q4) and the final item (IIEF-Q5). Intratympanic steroid treatments were administered on the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 14th, and 30th days of ISSHL diagnosis. Twenty sessions of hyperbaric oxygen therapy were applied to the patients starting from the first day of diagnosis. On the 180th day of the study, patients with hearing gain of less than 15 dB and a PTM value of less than 75 dB were considered treatment failures. The questionnaires of the patients who were successful with the treatment were repeated. The obtained data were analyzed statistically. Results: Pre-treatment IIEF-5 and IIEF-5Q1-Q4 scores were significantly lower than those of the control group (p<0.05). Post-treatment IIEF-5 and IIEF-5Q1-Q4 scores were significantly higher than the pre-treatment scores (p<0.05). Erectile dysfunction (ED) suspicion in the IIEF-5 questionnaire results was significantly higher in ISSHL patients (p=0.002). For ISSHL patients, ED suspicion was significantly lower in the post-treatment period compared in the pre-treatment period (p=0.002). Conclusion: ISSHL may be accepted as a risk factor for SD. ISSHL can affect sexual life and therefore quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]