Successful treatment of sudden sensorineural hearing loss assures improvement of accompanying tinnitus.

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: To investigate the long-term outcomes of accompanying tinnitus after steroid therapy for patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL).

STUDY DESIGN

Retrospective chart review and survey.

METHODS

Fifty patients diagnosed with SSNHL accompanied by tinnitus were enrolled and divided into two groups-satisfied and unsatisfied-according to the degree of improvement of tinnitus after SSNHL treatment. Subjective improvement of tinnitus and hearing status were investigated before and 6 months after SSNHL treatment. Hearing improvement was assessed using criteria from our previous study and Siegel's criteria. The change of tinnitus was assessed using a visual analogue scale for tinnitus intensity and frequency.

RESULTS

Patients with more severe initial hearing loss had less chance of hearing recovery (P = .05). The satisfied group included significantly more cases with better hearing recovery after SSNHL treatment than the unsatisfied group (P = .049). Pure-tone threshold and speech discrimination scores were significantly better in the satisfied group than in the unsatisfied group after SSNHL treatment (P = .033 and P = .018, respectively), although the two groups showed no definitive differences before treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

Optimal and successful treatment of SSNHL may be an important factor in obtaining favorable long-term control of tinnitus accompanied by SSNHL.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE