Abstract:

Objective: Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SSNHL) is an otological emergency. Permanent SSNHL can seriously affect the social life, psychology, and language development of pediatric patients. There is no consensus the treatment of SSNHL. We compared the etiology, prognostic factors, and treatment results in pediatric patients who received hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) in addition to systemic steroid therapy with a diagnosis of SSNHL. Material and Methods: The files of 15 children were received HBOT with the diagnosis of SSNHL, between the ages of 8-18 years, and followed-up at least three months were retrospectively analyzed. Results: The ages of patients with SSNHL ranged from 8 to 18 years of age (mean 14.47±3.31 years). Seven (46.7%) patients had complete recovery, and two (13.3%) patients had partial recovery, two (13.3%) patients had slight recovery, four (26.7%) patients had no improvement. While pre-treatment PTAs of the patients were ranged between 28 to 109 dB HL (mean±sd; 57.3±26.2 dB HL), post-treatment PTAs were 6 to 88 dB HL (38±27.3 dB HL), (p=0.002). No significant difference was found between age, gender, number of HBOT sessions and response to treatment (p = 0.581, p = 0.904, p = 0.357, p = 0.184, respectively). Conclusion: Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a safe and well-tolerated treatment modality for pediatric SSNHL patients. To avoid ethical and legal problems, we think that pediatric patients with a diagnosis of SSNHL should be initiated with the consent of the patient’s parents.

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