Turkish Archives of Otorhinolaryngology (Jun 2004)

General evaluation of the patients with sudden hearing loss and treatment results

  • Özgür Yiğit,
  • Fadlullah Aksoy,
  • Tayfun Apuhan,
  • Cihan Koç,
  • Turgay Han

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 42, no. 2
pp. 89 – 92

Abstract

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Objectives:To evaluate the general characteristics of the patients with sudden hearing loss, and to study the prognostic factors affecting the treatment results.Materials and Methods:The present study includes 32 ears of 29 patients who were admitted to our ENT clinic with sudden hearing loss and hospitalized between the years of 1998 and 2000. The treatment protocol included sedatives, corticosteroids and microcirculation regulating drugs. After a demographic and clinical evaluation, according to their hearing loss, the patients with an initial hearing loss less than mean 90 dB and those with 90 dB and above, and according to treatment time the patients who were admitted to our department within 3 days after the emergence of symptoms and those presented after, and the patients who had electronystagmography (ENG) pathology and those who had not, were divided into three groups and their results were assessed.Results:In the treatment of 32 ears of 29 patients with a mean age of 43±12.6 years (16 to 73 years), 12 ears (37.5%) had statistically significant recovery in hearing while 5 ears (15.6%) had limited hearing recovery. 15 ears (46.9%) demonstrated no hearing gain. The patients with an initial hearing loss less than 90 dB had significantly better hearing gain than those with a 90 dB and more hearing loss. However, there was no significant difference in hearing recovery between the patients admitted and treated within 3 days after the emergence of symptoms and the patients treated after those 3 days. Also, we found no significant difference between groups of those with a positive ENG pathology and with a negative pathology.Conclusion:We have found out that an initial advanced hearing loss has an effect, in a way, on worse prognosis while there is no significant difference in admitting too early and afterwards in the first week. In the presence of vertigo, no significant effects were found on the prognosis, but mostly as it is seen in patients with advanced hearing loss, it indicates bad prognosis.

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