Clin Exp Otorhinolaryngol.  2012 Apr;5(Suppl 1):S99-S102.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss after Failure from Oral and Intratympanic Corticosteroid

• Imsuwansri T
• Poonsap P
• Snidvongs

Abstract

Systemic and intratympanic steroids are most widely used for treating idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss. Other treatments include vasodilator, immunosuppressant and antiviral medication. However, only 61% of patients achieve full recovery, and controversies about the standard treatment still exist. In this case report, we present a patient with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss who failed to respond to systemic and intratympanic steroid treatments but subsequently recovered after undergoing hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

Keyword

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy; Sudden sensorineural hearing loss; Corticosteroid

MeSH Terms

Hearing Loss, Sensorineural
Humans
Hyperbaric Oxygenation
Steroids
Steroids

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Treatment table hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) 45/90 minutes. Total elapsed time: 95 minutes.

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  Fig. 2 Hyperbaric chamber.

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  Fig. 3 Inside view of the hyperbaric chamber.

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  Fig. 4 Audiogram (A) before treatment (B) after oral corticosteroid (C) after intratympanic corticosteroid adminstration (D) after hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

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  Fig. 5 Hearing level (dB) by time course (week) showing the duration of each treatment. HBOT, hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

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