The Effect of the Intra-Arterial Heparin Flushing (IAHF) Procedure on Hearing Threshold in Sensorineural Hearing Loss Patients

BACKGROUND: Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is a frequent problem in Indonesia but its treatment is still limited. This type of hearing loss is related to oxidative stress and decreased vascularization, which can damage the hair cell. The intra-arterial heparin flushing (IAHF) is a procedure that can recover circulation and its agent, namely heparin, also has antioxidant activity. Therefore, the IAHF procedure has the potential to improve hearing function and can be considered an alternative therapy for SNHL. OBJECTIVE: The study evaluates the effect of the IAHF on hearing improvement based on the difference in hearing threshold values before and after the procedure. METHODS: This experimental study used a Pretest-Posttest One-Group Only design. A total of 17 patients with sensorineural hearing loss who met inclusion and exclusion criteria were subjected to pure tone audiometry tests before and 4 hours after the IAHF procedure. The mean difference in hearing threshold was analyzed using paired Students t-test for normally distributed data and Wilcoxon for non-normally distributed data. RESULTS: There was a decrease in the means of hearing threshold in the right and left ear 4 hours after the IAHF procedure. However, based on the paired Students t-test, there was not a significant difference in hearing threshold before and after the procedure (p-value > 0.05). CONCLUSION: There was hearing threshold improvement 4 hours after the IAHF procedure. This study showed that the IAHF procedure can have a therapeutic effect on sensorineural hearing loss patients.