The role of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss: A retrospective review of 50 patients

Abstract Background Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SSNHL) is a hearing impairment of more than 30 dB occurring within a period of upto 3 days in three consecutive pure tone frequencies. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) in recent years has gained relevance for treating SSNHL in combination with other agents. The aim of this study is to review the outcomes in patients with SSNHL treated with HBOT at our centre. Materials & methods Records of 50 patients with SSNHL who received HBOT with conventional management were retrospectively reviewed. They were treated in a multiplace hyperbaric chamber at 2.4 ATA, for 90 min once a day. Pre and post treatment audiograms at 500, 1000, 2000, 4000 and 6000 Hz were compared to assess improvement. Hearing gain in relation to severity, age of patients, therapeutic delay and coexisting symptoms in prognosis was evaluated. Results 94% patients had overall hearing improvement. 82% patients of severe hearing loss presenting to us within 2 weeks of onset showed maximum gain. Those who received treatment within 14 days showed highest gain from 76 ± 20.06 dB to 51.9 ± 17.1 dB as compared to other patients. The hearing gain was greater at frequencies above 500 Hz. Patients younger than 50 years showed greater gain of 25 ± 13.2 dB as compared to those older than 50 years with gain of 19 ± 10.2 dB. Conclusion Addition of HBOT to standard treatment significantly improves outcome of SSNHL in a subset of patients. We recommend additional multicentric, prospective studies be carried out to define the role of HBOT in SSNHL.