The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and outcomes of intravenous high dose
steroids in patients diagnosed with sudden sensori-neural
hearing loss (SSNHL). The study also looked at the various co-morbidities influencing the outcomes of IV
steroid therapy and also evaluated the improvement in associated symptoms like
vertigo and
tinnitus. This prospective study involved 30 patients treated during the 1 year period from January 2010 to 2011 in the Department of Otolaryngology, Madras ENT Research Foundation, Chennai. Male: female ratio was 1.3:1 and age range was 19-80 years. For all patients, pre treatment pure tone audiometry (PTA) was compared with post treatment PTA at 1 month. Treatment was given in the form of intravenous high dose methyl
prednisolone. The patients were divided into two groups. Group 1 (20 pts) included SSNHL with no co-morbidity, group 2 (10 pts) included SSNHL with various co-morbidities. The mean hearing level improved from an average of 79.53 dB (HL) before treatment to 42.33 dB (HL)
after treatment. In patients with predominantly low frequency HL (16 pts) PTA improved from 76.01 to 32.6 dB while in high frequency HL PTA improved from 83.55 to 53.43 dB. In our study of 30 patients, complete recovery occurred in 56.66% cases and marked improvement (>30 dB) in 16.66% patients. There was no improvement in 26.66% cases. Patients in group 2 had co-morbid factors like
diabetes mellitus, dys-thyroidism and
hypertension. A statistically significant improvement in the associated symptoms of
tinnitus/
vertigo, were also noted after IV
steroid treatment. According to our results, emergency administration of high dose of Intra-venous
corticosteroids to patients with SSNHL is highly recommended. Patients with high frequency preservation have better hearing improvement at the end of treatment. The critical time period for commencing IV treatment is less than 6 h from onset of
hearing loss in order to restore normal hearing. High dose Intravenous
steroids are a safe and effective treatment in sudden sensori-neural
hearing loss.