158 Cases of Acute Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Abstract

Acute sensorineural hearing loss is not relatively rare. One-hundred forty-one sudden deafness and 17 acute low-tone sensorineural hearing loss patients underwent curative treatment between 1991 and 1999.
In cases of sudden deafness, complete recovery occurred in 27.0% of patients, definite improvement in 50.4%, and slight improvement in 73.0%. Prognostic factors were studied by logistic analysis. Important prognostic factors were age and time between onset and beginning of treatment. So, cases of sudden deafness should be treated as soon as possible.
In cases of acute low-tone sensorineural hearing loss, complete recovery occurred in 47.1 % of patients, definite improvement in 58.8%, and slight improvement in 76.5%. Acute low-tone sensorineural hearing loss has better prognosis than sudden deafness. However, some cases need steroids.