title: Vertigo as a prognostic sign in sudden sensorineural hearing loss.
abstract: Several prognostic indicators of favorable outcome in idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSHL) have been proposed: an initial profound hearing loss, a down-sloping audiometric curve, advanced age, and the presence of vertigo. The latter has been disputed in the literature. The present study addressed the correlation between vertigo and outcome of ISSHL. Sixty-seven patients with ISSHL, aged 52 years on average, were treated with tapered doses of oral prednisone and complete bed rest. Factors found to have a statistically significant prognostic value as indicators of outcome in ISSHL were tinnitus on admission (positive indicator, p < .041) and a descending type of audiometric curve (negative indicator, p < .009). The presence of vertigo was also found to be significantly correlated with the lack of improvement in hearing, but only at the 8-kHz frequency. Dizziness was reported by 27% of the patients. The correlation between the presence of vertigo and persistent high-frequency ISSHL may be explained by the anatomic contiguity of the basal turn of cochlea and the vestibule.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Bnai-Zion Medical Center, Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Medicine, Haifa, Israel. tbd@zahav.net.il
authors.forename: Jacob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ben-David
authors.forename: Michal
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Luntz
authors.forename: Ludwig
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Podoshin
authors.forename: Edmond
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sabo
authors.forename: Milo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fradis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001299:Audiometry; D005260:Female; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003639:Hearing Loss, Sudden / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011379:Prognosis; D020127:Recovery of Function; D014012:Tinnitus / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology; D014717:Vertigo / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*