We investigated 974 patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss who consulted the otolaryngological service of Hamamatsu University Hospital and four affiliated hospitals from 1984 to 1992. Among them, we selected 569 new cases showing a pure tone average of 31 dB or more at 250 Hz, 500 Hz, 1000 Hz, 2000 Hz and 4000 Hz on the affected side in the initial audiometry performed within 14 days after the onset of sudden sensorineural hearing loss. The 569 patients consisted of 13 with acoustic neuromas (SHLANs), 493 with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISHLs) and 63 others. Ten of the 13 SHLANs and 40 of the 493 ISHLs showed the trough type audiogram on the initial examination. We defined the 10 cases as the Trough AN group and the 40 as the Trough ISHL group. Statistical analysis of the difference in pure tone averages at 5 frequencies between the 2 groups demonstrated that the mean hearing losses at 125, 250 and 500 Hz of Trough AN were significantly less than those of Trough ISHL. This study demonstrates that the trough type audiogram, especially a slight low tone loss, shown in patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss was a significant finding suggesting the presence of acoustic neuroma.