Our experience in the treatment of idiopathic sensorineural hearing loss (ISNHL): Effect of combination therapy with HBO₂ and vasodilator infusion therapy.

Idiopathic sensorineural hearing loss (ISNHL) is a hearing impairment that occurs suddenly with onset over a period of 24 to 72 hours, affecting at least three adjacent frequencies with hearing loss of 30 decibels or more, caused by damage to the inner ear or auditory nerve without clear reasons. The treatment of ISNHL is still a hot topic. In a retrospective study, we examined 88 patients with ISNHL (2008-2013). The objective of the study was to compare the effects of two different types of therapy: vasodilator infusion treatment combined with hyperbaric oxygen (HBO₂) therapy vs. vasodilator infusion therapy alone. We investigated the correlation between the type of audiometric curve and hearing gain after treatment, the correlation between the age and the effectiveness of treatment, plus the effect of therapy on tinnitus. We found a statistically significant (p⟨0.0001) therapeutic effect in both treatment modalities: 55% with HBO₂ therapy vs. 65% without HBO₂. The difference between the two methods is not statistically significant. The best effect of treatment was observed in patients with apicocochlear hearing impairment. The age of patients in our group had no statistically significant relevance. Alleviation of tinnitus was observed mainly in patients with apicocochlear type of hearing loss.