Self-reported symptoms in patients with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

OBJECTIVE

This study evaluated self-reported symptoms in patients with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSHL).

STUDY DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

SETTING

Multicenter clinical investigation in 9 university hospitals.

PATIENTS

In total, 140 patients with ISSHL and 24 patients with unilateral sensorineural hearing loss (USHL; control) were included.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

A questionnaire on symptoms of ISSHL was distributed and the Short-Form Health Survey (Version 2) was used for assessing the quality of life.

RESULTS

In response to questions on hearing difficulty, many of patients in both groups experienced symptoms. In response to questions on hearing-related discomfort, a significantly higher number of patients with ISSHL experienced symptoms compared with those with USHL. Compared with a high incidence of tinnitus in patients with ISSHL, very low incidence of tinnitus was observed in those with USHL.In the multiple linear regression analysis, hearing-related discomfort was the sole significant factor on the Mental Component Summary scores of the Short-Form Health Survey (Version 2).

CONCLUSION

Many patients with ISSHL experience several symptoms such as hearing difficulty, hearing-related discomfort, tinnitus, and anxiety. Hearing-related discomfort strongly affected the quality of life in patients with ISSHL.