Management of idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if any consensus exists regarding the efficacy of treatment in idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss syndrome (ISSNHL).

DATA SOURCES: A review of the literature from 1966 to the present on Medline database was performed with the following search criteria: Hearing loss, sensorineural (MeSH terms), sensorineural hearing loss (text word), deafness (MeSH), and idiopathic or sudden (all fields). Further limiting search terms were treatment outcomes or controlled studies.

DATA EXTRACTION: The articles were then analyzed searching for randomized, prospective, controlled studies of single treatment modalities. Both human and animal studies were included for discussion because of the paucity of human studies.

CONCLUSION: No consensus exists on the effective treatment of ISSNHL. Randomized, controlled studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of systemic steroids, however, follow up studies have questioned the benefit of steroid therapy.