title: The place of hyperbaric oxygen therapy and ozone therapy in sudden hearing loss.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  It is difficult to evaluate the effect of drugs clinically used for idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss, mainly because its underlying mechanism remains unknown.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study assessed the efficacy of hyperbaric oxygen therapy or ozone therapy in the treatment of idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss, when either therapy was included with steroid treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective analysis examined 106 patients with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss seen between January 2010 and June 2012. Those with an identified etiology were excluded. The patients were divided into three treatment groups: oral steroid only (n=65), oral steroid+hyperbaric oxygen (n=26), and oral steroid+ozone (n=17). Treatment success was assessed using Siegel criteria and mean gains using pre- and post-treatment audiograms.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The highest response rate to treatment was observed in the oral steroid+ozone therapy group (82.4%), followed by the oral steroid+hyperbaric oxygen (61.5%), and oral steroid groups (50.8%). There were no significant differences in the response to treatment between the oral steroid and oral steroid+hyperbaric oxygen groups (p<0.355). The oral steroid+ozone group showed a significantly higher response rate to treatment than the oral steroid group (p=0.019). There were no significant differences between the oral steroid+hyperbaric oxygen and oral steroid+ozone groups (p=0.146).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The efficiency of steroid treatment in patients with severe hearing loss was low. It was statistically ascertained that adding hyperbaric oxygen or ozone therapy to the treatment contributed significantly to treatment success.
authors.affiliation: Van Training And Research Hospital, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Van, Turkey. Electronic address: gulinergun@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Gülin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ergun Taşdöven
authors.affiliation: Akdeniz University, School of Medicine, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Antalya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Alper Tunga
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Derin
authors.affiliation: Akdeniz University, School of Medicine, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Antalya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Neslihan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yaprak
authors.affiliation: Akdeniz University, School of Medicine, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Antalya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Hasan Ümit
authors.initials: HÜ
authors.lastname: Özçağlar
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001299:Audiometry; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D003639:Hearing Loss, Sudden / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D006931:Hyperbaric Oxygenation / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010126:Ozone / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013256:Steroids / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D013256:Steroids; D010126:Ozone
keywords: Esteroide oral; Hyperbaric oxygen therapy; Idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss; Oral steroid; Oxigenoterapia hiperbárica; Ozone therapy; Ozonioterapia; Surdez súbita