Sudden Hearing Loss
Prof. Dr. Orhan Görgülü2 minute read
Sudden hearing loss means a hearing loss of 30 dB or more, across at least three neighbouring frequencies on a hearing test, that develops suddenly or step by step within three days.
There is still no agreement about its cause, its course or its treatment. More than 50 treatment methods appear in the literature, which shows how unsettled the subject is.
That lack of agreement is not a reason for pessimism. Two things are known. About half of these patients recover on their own, with no treatment at all. Most of the patients who do not recover on their own get their hearing back with the right treatment.
Sudden hearing loss is an emergency. See an ear, nose and throat specialist as soon as you notice it.
What the patient feels
- Ringing in the ear
- Reduced hearing
- A feeling of fullness or blockage in the ear
- Dizziness or unsteadiness
When a patient comes with one or more of these signs and a hearing test shows sudden hearing loss, investigation and treatment start at once.
Why the cause often stays unknown
Detailed imaging is available today, including inner ear computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. Even so, no cause is found in 90 per cent of these patients.
Experimental work links these unexplained losses to earlier viral upper airway infections, to problems in the blood vessels, and to conditions that affect the immune system.
Treatment
After the diagnosis, patients are admitted to hospital and treated with a group of medicines, steroids above all. Steroids are given through the body, and they can also be injected into the ear with good results. The main approach today uses both routes.
Blood thinning medicines, medicines that improve blood flow and medicines that support the immune system are sometimes combined with them. Some studies report that patients given hyperbaric oxygen therapy recover better than patients who are not.
What worsens the outlook
- Dizziness together with the hearing loss
- A history of nerve-type hearing loss in the other ear
- Diabetes and high blood pressure
- A hearing loss that is severe