Clinical Characteristics and Short-term Outcomes of Acute Low Frequency Sensorineural Hearing Loss With Vertigo

OBJECTIVES: This study analyzed short-term prognosis in patients with acute low frequency hearing loss (ALHL), and also investigate hearing recovery rates in patients with ALHL accompanied vertigo. METHODS: Retrospective medical record review of the patients who received treatment for ALHL between June 2005 and June 2015 were analyzed. Of the 84 patients, 53 were without vertigo, and 31 were with vertigo. Of the 31 patients, eight were treated with steroids, seven with diuretics alone, and 16 with both. Clinical and auditory characteristics before and after treatment were compared in these three groups. RESULTS: Pure tone audiometry after 8 weeks of treatment showed that patients with vertigo had significantly higher than patients without vertigo (P=0.020). Patients with vertigo who recovered from ALHL had a greater tendency to receive early treatment than patients who did not recover. Patients who received the two steroid therapy groups (steroids alone and steroids plus diuretics) had a higher recovery rate than patients who received diuretics alone (P=0.043 and P=0.037, respectively). CONCLUSION: The prognosis of patients with ALHL is worse in those with vertigo compared to without vertigo. The hearing recovery rate in patients with vertigo tends to be higher in those treated with steroids than with diuretics alone.