Effect of treatment with hyperbaric oxygen in patients with idiopathic sensorineural hearing loss: A retrospective analysis

Vollständiger Abstract

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Objectives: Idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) is one of the under-recognized medical emergency clinical practices. Although its effectiveness varies, hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is one of the approved therapies for ISSNHL. The need for this retrospective study was to analyze the hearing outcome of patients with ISSNHL post-HBOT at the Institute of Aerospace Medicine, Indian Air Force. Material and Methods: 23 patients with ISSNHL were treated with HBOT during the period from January 2017 to December 2022. The impact of HBOT was determined by comparing the audiometry results before and after the treatment. For analyses of the data, the paired t -test and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test were used. Results: Out of 23 patients, 78% were males and 22% were females. Based on the degree of hearing loss (HL), 17% had mild to moderate HL (91 dB). Of the total individuals treated with HBOT, 43.4% showed full recovery and 47.8% showed incomplete recovery. Mean pre-HBOT audiometry result for patients with right ear ISSNHL was 88.38 dB, left ear ISSNHL was 81.65 dB, and B/L ISSNHL was 88.82 dB while the mean post-HBOT PTA was 32.02 dB, 44.85 dB, and 53.28 dB, respectively. The hearing outcome of HBOT in patients with ISSNHL was statistically significant with a p = 6.887E-08. Conclusion: The data from 23 patients were analyzed after initial treatment with tapering intratympanic steroid for assessing hearing outcomes with HBOT. The outcome depends upon the degree of HL, the interval between the onset of ISSNHL and initiation of treatment. Combined therapy with HBOT has a more significant outcome for the treatment of ISSNHL in comparison to other conventional treatment modalities.