ETIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF SUDDEN SENSORINEURAL HEARING LOSS: A PROSPECTIVE OBSERVATIONAL STUDY IN KASHMIR

Abstract

Background: Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) is dened as sensorineural hearing loss of 30 dB or more over at least three consecutive audiometric frequencies that occurs within a 72-hour period. Even though there are several potential causes of SSNHL, however, the majority of patients do not have well established etiology. Methods: The present prospective observational study was conducted in the Post Graduate Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck surgery (ORL AND HNS), Government SMHS Hospital Srinagar, which is the associated Hospital of Government Medical College Srinagar & caters patients from whole of the Kashmir division. A total of 115 patients who gave the consent & fullled the inclusion criteria were taken into the study. Results: When the subjects were stratied based on severity of the disorder, ~70% subjects reported mild to moderate SSNHL, while as the rest reported severe forms of SSNHL with ~10% reporting profound SSNHL. Most of cases were idiopathic (57%). Nearly 11% subjects had diabetes mellitus, ~8% had hypertension and an even less number had infectious cause. History of Meinere's Disease was reported in ~4% of subjects and history of fractured temporal bone was presented in ~2% of subjects. Conclusion: The etiology of SSHNL is heterogenic, with majority of cases as idiopathic. For practitioner pinpointing the exact etiology is equally all the more important for targeted treatments. We recommend large sample comprehensive extended studies to further investigate the possible cases associated with this disease.