Objectives: To investigate factors affecting the prognosis of sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL).
Study design and setting: This is a retrospective study of patients with SSNHL hospitalized at an academic medical center. All patients in this study were treated with prednisolone and dextran. We compared a new 7-pattern classification for audiometric pattern and prognosis analysis with Sheehy classification.
Results: We analyzed 148 affected ears in 146 patients. Occurrence of SSNHL was associated with changes in season. The best prognosis was with the midtone pattern of the 7-pattern classification and with the low-tone pattern of Sheehy classification. The older patients, those with vertigo, or those treated after 6 days had a poor prognosis. There was no significant association between ESR level and prognosis.
Conclusions: SSNHL patients with midtone loss have the best prognosis. This study of the audiometric patterns and prognostic factors of SSNHL allow us to better predict its outcome.