The therapeutic effect of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in patients with severe to profound idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss

Abstract

The optimal treatment for sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) is unclear. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) has been suggested as a viable option for treatment of SSNHL as it improves vascular dysfunction. In this study, we evaluated the therapeutic effects of HBOT by retrospectively reviewing the records of 2206 patients with SSNHL. 54 who had received HBOT were selected for the HBOT groups, while 59 age-matched controls who had not were selected for the control groups. The HBOT and control groups were divided into subgroups according to intratympanic steroid (ITS) use. Groups A-D had received oral steroids + HBOT, oral steroids only, oral steroids + ITS + HBOT, and oral steroids + ITS, respectively. Of the 113 SSNHL patients, 21 had diabetes mellitus (DM) (2, 0, 9, and 10 patients in Groups A-D, respectively). There was no notable difference in hearing improvement between patients receiving HBOT and those in the control group. However, among diabetic patients, those who underwent HBOT demonstrated a significant improvement in hearing when compared to the control group. The combination of HBOT and steroids could potentially be beneficial for treating severe to profound SSNHL patients with DM.

Figure 1

Classification of patients into 4 groups. HBOT, Hyperbaric oxygen therapy; ITS, Intratympanic steroids.

Figure 2

Mean initial PTA and Mean follow-up PTA in Group C with DM and Group D with DM. The mean hearing gains (Follow-up PTA – Initial PTA) of Group C with DM was 56.9 dB ± 20.9 and Group D with DM was 32.3 dB ± 22.5 (p = 0.043). DM, Diabetes mellitus; HBOT, Hyperbaric oxygen therapy; ITS, Intratympanic steroids; PTA, Pure-tone average.