LONG-TERM HEARING RESULTS OF PATIENTS TREATED WITH COMBINED ORAL STEROID, INTRATYMPANIC STEROID AND HYPERBARIC OXYGEN FOR SUDDEN SENSORINEURAL HEARING LOSS
1Department of Otorhinolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, Haydarpaşa Numune Educational and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey2Department of Otorhinolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, Fatih Sultan Mehmet Educational and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey Aim: to evaluate short and long-term hearing outcomes of the patients treated with combined intratympanic, systemic steroids and hyperbaric oxygen therapy for Idiopathic Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss (ISSHL).
Materials and Methods: The study was a retrospective case review. The study group consisted of 125 consecutive adult patients diagnosed with ISSHL who underwent combined intratympanic steroid, systemic steroid and hyperbaric oxygen treatment between 2005 and 2011 in tertiary referral center. 500, 1000, 2000, 4000 Hz and pure tone average ( PTA) at these frequencies were used to evaluate hearing characteristics at baseline, 1 month after the end of treatment and in the long-term (mean: 3.03±1.49; range: 1-6 years). Hearing recovery rates were classified using Siegel's criteria.
Results: Complete recovery was observed in 18,4% of the patients after combined treatment and in 23,2% of the patients in the long-term. 55,2% and 49,6% of the patients had no hearing improvement either after the treatment or in the long-term. Long-term Siegel recovery rate was very significantly worse in patients with tinnitus. Patients who recovered completely in the long-term was significantly younger than those with partial, slight and no improvement.
Conclusion: Multimodal approach has no cumulative effect on the outcome of ISSHL in the long-term.
Keywords : Idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss; Hearing outcomes; Pure tone average; Siegel's criteria; Intratympanic steroids; Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy