Effect of Constraint-Induced Music Therapy in Idiopathic Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND: Idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) is commonly encountered in audiologic and otolaryngologic practice. Constraint-induced music/sound therapy (CIMT) is characterized by the plugging of the normal ear (constraint) and the simultaneous, stimulation of the affected ear with music, which is based on a well-established neurorehabilitation approach. Corticosteroid therapy (CST) is the current mainstay of treatment. The prognosis for hearing recovery depends on many factors including the severity of hearing loss, age, and presence of vertigo. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the effectiveness of CIMT with CST in ISSNHL. METHODS: We performed a systematic search, using specific keywords relevant to our study, in PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and additional sources of published trials till December 2020. We then screened all search results obtained according to our inclusion/exclusion criteria and performed a quality assessment on all studies using the Newcastle–Ottawa scale and using MedCalc, a meta-analysis was performed on suitable studies. RESULTS: The recovery rates of three included nonrandomized studies were assessed at 1 to 3 months. A total of 229 (CST: 131, CST + CIMT: 98) patients were pooled for meta-analysis. The meta-analysis using the random-effect model found the relative risk of recovery rate within 3 months to be 1.213 (95% confidence interval 0.709–2.074), a result that is not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Although our analysis results do not demonstrate the noticeable effect of CIMT in ISSNHL, it can support be a gainful adjunct to CST for better hearing results than CST alone. Therefore, it needs further prospective randomized controlled multicenter trials with a large sample.