Sudden sensorineural hearing loss: etiologies and treatments.

Sudden sensorineural hearing loss of 30 decibels in three contiguous frequencies, occurring in less than three days, is called sudden hearing loss. Although a number of disease processes can cause a similar hearing loss, true sudden hearing loss is idiopathic in nature. This review of sudden hearing loss will focus on the three main etiologic theories and numerous treatments studied in recent years in order to better enable clinicians to understand, diagnose, and treat the disorder.