Prognosis of sudden low-tone loss other than acute low-tone sensorineural hearing loss.
CONCLUSIONS
In clinical practice, sudden low-tone loss other than acute low-tone sensorineural hearing loss (ALHL) shows a potential for recurrence.


OBJECTIVE
ALHL is often associated with recurrence and/or progression to Ménière's disease. We examined the prognosis of patients with sudden low-tone loss who were not classified in the audiometric definition of ALHL.


METHODS
Sixty-three patients diagnosed at the university hospital with idiopathic sudden low-tone loss of sensorineural hearing loss and without subjective vertigo were followed up in the long term with a mean of over 4 years. The rates of recurrence and/or progression to Ménière's disease for patients with low-tone loss type other than ALHL (non-ALHL) were compared with those for ALHL patients.


RESULTS
The recovery rate at the initial treatment was 47.6% for non-ALHL and 62.9% for ALHL. A Kaplan-Meier plot indicated that cumulative recurrence rates for non-ALHL were 20.2% at 1 year and 43.5% at 5 years, whereas the rates for ALHL were 12.2% at 1 year and 31.3% at 5 years. There was no statistically significant difference between the two patient groups.
Fushiki
Hiroaki
H
Department of Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan. hfushiki@med.u-toyama.ac.jp
Junicho
Makiko
M
Kanazawa
Yuuji
Y
Aso
Shin
S
Watanabe
Yukio
Y
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D003639:Hearing Loss, Sudden / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008575:Meniere Disease / Q000209:etiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012008:Recurrence; D012189:Retrospective Studies