Diagnosis and Treatment of Sudden‐Onset Sensorineural Hearing Loss: A Study of 51 Patients

The study purpose was to determine the efficacy of steroid and antiviral therapy in the management of idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL).We conducted a retrospective study of patients presenting to an academic tertiary care center. Fifty-one patients were evaluated. All patients were placed on the same treatment protocol.Thirty-seven patients (73%) had recovery of hearing. Ninety-one percent of patients with vertigo and all patients with mid-frequency hearing loss and up-sloping hearing loss recovered with treatment (P0.05). Recovery was significantly related to age, onset of hearing loss, and audiogram type; however outcome was not significantly related to gender, vertigo, tinnitus, or laterality (P0.05).Our treatment protocol produced a recovery rate, which exceeds the spontaneous recovery rate. Unlike prior studies, all patients with up-sloping and mid-frequency SSNHL had recovery. In addition, vertigo did not indicate a poor prognosis.Antiviral therapy and increased length of steroid treatment may play a role in the improved recovery rates.