• Home
  • Practice Focus
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
    • How I Do It
    • TRIO Best Practices
  • Business of Medicine
    • Health Policy
    • Legal Matters
    • Practice Management
    • Tech Talk
    • AI
  • Literature Reviews
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
  • Career
    • Medical Education
    • Professional Development
    • Resident Focus
  • ENT Perspectives
    • ENT Expressions
    • Everyday Ethics
    • From TRIO
    • The Great Debate
    • Letter From the Editor
    • Rx: Wellness
    • The Voice
    • Viewpoint
  • TRIO Resources
    • Triological Society
    • The Laryngoscope
    • Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology
    • TRIO Combined Sections Meetings
    • COSM
    • Related Otolaryngology Events
  • Search

AAO-HNS14: Treatments Beyond Steroids for Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss Examined

by Thomas R. Collins • November 4, 2014

  • Tweet
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
Print-Friendly Version

One of his top take-home messages, he said, was that all patients should be evaluated for retrocochlear pathology. “That doesn’t necessarily mean that all patients should get an MRI scan, although in my practice, I strongly advise most patients to get an MRI scan,” he added.

You Might Also Like

  • IT Steroid Treatment, Oral Corticosteroid Therapy Similar for Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss
  • Is Hyperbaric Oxygen Effective in the Treatment of Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss?
  • MRI Useful for Identification of Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss Etiology
  • Pills vs. Injections: Which Steroids Are Best for Sudden Hearing Loss?
Explore This Issue
November 2014

His bottom line regarding SSNHL is that there are a variety of causes and that these possible causes aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive. “Perhaps what we’re really dealing with is some sort of a trigger that provokes it, perhaps vascular or viral, and that sets in motion a common cellular-stress pathway within the hair cells that results in cellular death,” he said.

Sujana Chandrasekhar, MD, director of New York Otology and a member of the guideline panel, said that, despite what might be a prevailing view in the field, steroids are not a true gold standard for SSNHL. The guidelines suggest that a clinician “may offer” steroids as an initial treatment.

“That was a surprising finding based on the literature,” Dr. Chandrasekhar said. “Most of us went into the guidelines panel thinking that steroid is, quote unquote, the gold standard for sudden hearing loss management.”

Actually, though, while some studies have found a benefit, others have not. A Cochrane review of the best available evidence found mixed results with steroids, she said. Three studies made the cut for the review, but all had a high risk of bias. So, in the end, she said, steroids are an option, not a recommendation.

Oral v. Intratympanic Administration

When it comes to oral administration versus intratympanic (IT) injection of steroids, the best guidance might come from a landmark 2011 study that found no benefit difference but a “less worrisome” side effect profile for IT injection (JAMA. 2011;305:2071-2079).

Contrary to the administration of steroids (systemic or IT) as an option for initial treatment, however, is the clinical practice guideline panel’s recommendation that physicians offer IT steroid injection as salvage if the patient fails any type of initial management, which might include observation, systemic or IT steroids, hyperbaric oxygen, or other treatment. “The literature on utility of IT steroid injections for salvage is actually very clear and shows a benefit,” she said.

Still, there might be a benefit to using IT injection in addition to systemic steroids, because delivery time is longer with IT injection if the round window is closed because of fibrous adhesions, Dr. Chandrasekhar said.

Pages: 1 2 3 | Single Page

Filed Under: Features, Otology/Neurotology, Practice Focus Tagged With: AAO-HNS, sudden sensorineural hearing lossIssue: November 2014

You Might Also Like:

  • IT Steroid Treatment, Oral Corticosteroid Therapy Similar for Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss
  • Is Hyperbaric Oxygen Effective in the Treatment of Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss?
  • MRI Useful for Identification of Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss Etiology
  • Pills vs. Injections: Which Steroids Are Best for Sudden Hearing Loss?

The Triological SocietyENTtoday is a publication of The Triological Society.

Polls

Do you use AI-powered scribes for documentation?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...
  • Polls Archive

Top Articles for Residents

  • Applications Open for Resident Members of ENTtoday Edit Board
  • How To Provide Helpful Feedback To Residents
  • Call for Resident Bowl Questions
  • New Standardized Otolaryngology Curriculum Launching July 1 Should Be Valuable Resource For Physicians Around The World
  • Do Training Programs Give Otolaryngology Residents the Necessary Tools to Do Productive Research?
  • Popular this Week
  • Most Popular
  • Most Recent
    • How to: Positioning for Middle Cranial Fossa Repair of Superior Semicircular Canal Dehiscence

    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment

    • Rating Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Severity: How Do Two Common Instruments Compare?

    • Otolaryngologists Are Still Debating the Effectiveness of Tongue Tie Treatment

    • Endoscopic Ear Surgery: Advancements and Adoption Challenges 

    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment

    • Rating Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Severity: How Do Two Common Instruments Compare?

    • Is Middle Ear Pressure Affected by Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Use?

    • Otolaryngologists Are Still Debating the Effectiveness of Tongue Tie Treatment

    • Complications for When Physicians Change a Maiden Name

    • The Importance of Time Away
    • Endoscopic Ear Surgery: Advancements and Adoption Challenges 
    • Reflections from a Past President of the Triological Society
    • ENT Surgeons Explore the Benefits and Challenges of AI-Powered Scribes: Revolutionizing Documentation in Healthcare
    • How To: Open Expansion Laryngoplasty for Combined Glottic and Subglottic Stenosis

Follow Us

  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • The Triological Society
  • The Laryngoscope
  • Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Cookies

Wiley

Copyright © 2025 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved, including rights for text and data mining and training of artificial technologies or similar technologies. ISSN 1559-4939