Vol.100 No.2 contentsPRACTICA OTO-RHINO-LARYNGOLOGICA
Vol. 100 No. 2 February 2007
To Cope with Acute Low-Tone Sensorineural
Hearing Loss at a Private Clinic
Harunori Goto
(Goto Ear Nose and Throat Clinic)
This study was performed on 73 patients (58 females and 15 males) with acute low-tone sensorineural hearing loss (ALHL) without vertigo, who visited my clinic from 2002 to 2004.
These patients were investigated and under long-term observation for more than 2 years to study their condition, prognosis, treatment, and background.
The increase in ALHL patients (especially female) in the last 3 years was remarkable. This increase maybe caused by stress, depression, or autonomic disorder.
Outpatients with ALHL were administered 15 mg of predonisolone per day for 5 days in my clinic, and then the dose was gradually reduced. Eighty-six percent of patients responded well to the treatment.
However, a recurrence of hearing loss occurred in 20 patients (27.4％), with 5 of these patients (5.5％) later developing Meniere's disease.
Recently, the ALHL patients were sent questionnaires with SRQ-D by post. Our results (69.1％ response rate) shed light on the problems concerning the level of satisfaction after treatment and the quality of life
(QOL).
These findings suggested that long-term follow up and assertive
psychosomatic approaches are necessary in the future to evaluate the clinical
progress and prognosis of patients with ALHL.
Key words :acute low-tone sensorineural hearing loss, recurrence, questionnaire