Hyperbaric oxygen therapy seems to enhance recovery from acute acoustic trauma.

CONCLUSION

The average recovery of hearing and cessation of tinnitus was significantly better after hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) than after normobaric oxygen therapy (NBOT). HBOT can be valuable adjuvant therapy for patients with acute acoustic trauma (AAT).

OBJECTIVES

AAT was one of the early indications for the use of HBOT. The rationale of administering oxygen to patients with AAT is based on experimental studies showing that noise exposure results in cochlear hypoxia, which could be compensated by HBOT. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of HBOT in patients with AAT.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We compared the recovery from hearing impairment and tinnitus in 60 ears treated with HBOT with 60 ears treated with NBOT. The HBOT was given daily for 1-8 days. There were no significant differences in clinical or audiological data between HBOT and NBOT groups.

RESULTS

The average recovery of hearing both at high and speech frequencies was significantly better and tinnitus persisted less commonly after the HBOT than after the NBOT. Normal hearing at the end of the follow-up period was regained in 42 ears in the HBOT group and in 24 ears in the NBOT group (p<0.01).