Bottom Line: The addition of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (where patients receive pure oxygen in a pressurized chamber) to standard medical treatment was associated with an improved likelihood that patients who experience sudden deafness might recover all or some of their lost hearing. Sudden deafness, also known as sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL), is hearing loss that happens within a few days and often has no identifiable cause. This study combined the results of 19 studies, including three randomized clinical trials, and suggests a greater benefit of adding the hyperbaric oxygen therapy may be associated with those patients who have severe to profound hearing loss and who failed to recover after standard medical treatment. A limitation of this study is that because a substantial number of patients with SSNHL will spontaneously recover, the benefits of treatment may not have been accurately evaluated.
Authors: Tae-Min Rhee, M.D., D.M.O./U.M.O., National Maritime Medical Center, Changwon, Republic of Korea, and coauthors
To Learn More: The full study is available on the For The Media website.
(doi:10.1001/jamaoto.2018.2133)
Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.
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