Effects of Oral Steroids Combined with Postauricular Steroid Injection on Patients with Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss with Delaying Intervention: A Retrospective Analysis

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background: In the otology clinic, we often receive some sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) patients accompanied by annoying tinnitus, who usually visited over three weeks after the onset. Nevertheless, due to the high treatment cost and relatively low cure rate, there are still great disputes about hospitalization or not for these patients. Aim: This study aimed to perform a retrospective analysis for analyzing the efficacy of treatment with oral steroids combined with postauricular steroid injection in patients with delaying effective treatment. Material/Methods: A total of 157 eligible SSNHL patients with delaying effective treatment over three weeks were enrolled in this study. According to different treatment methods of oral steroids with or without postauricular steroid injection, these patients were divided into three groups: PO (prednisone oral) group, PSI (prednisone oral and postauricular steroid injection) group, and PII (prednisone oral and postauricular lidocaine injection) group. The changes in level of hearing, mean subjective tinnitus loudness, and side effects were analyzed in the three groups. Results: Hearing improvement and tinnitus remission were all observed in three groups after treatment. Compared with PO and PII groups, those patients in PSI groups had more improvement in level of hearing and mean subjective tinnitus. The level of tinnitus loudness was statistically significantly correlated with the level of PTA both before treatment and after treatment. Conclusion: Oral steroids combined with postauricular steroid injection should be employed for treatment of SSNHL patients with delaying effective treatment over three weeks.