The Effectiveness of Salvage Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Following Combined Steroid Therapy for Refractory Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Objective: Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is an accepted treatment option for sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL), but it is still recommended in combination with corticosteroids. We investigated the efficacy of salvage HBOT in refractory SSNHL that does not respond to corticosteroid combination therapy. Methods: Eighty-four patients were included, who had unilateral SSNHL with an improvement of pure-tone average (PTA) less than 10 dB after using intratympanic plus systemic corticosteroids (combined therapy) as the initial therapy. The control group (n = 66) received no further treatment, and the HBOT group (n = 18) received additional treatment with HBOT (10 sessions in total with 2.5 atmospheres absolute for 1 hour). Results: No differences in PTA or WDS were found between the 2 groups. However, the mean hearing gain in the HBOT group (16.8 +/- 4.49 dB) was significantly higher than that in the control group (4.45 +/- 1.03 dB) (P =.015). The proportion of patients with hearing recovery (hearing gain of 10 dB or more) after treatment was significantly higher in HBOT group (38.9%) than in the control group (10.6%). Conclusions: In patients with refractory SSNHL after steroid combined therapy, salvage HBOT showed a significant effect on hearing gain and recovery rate.