Clinical and prognostic analyses of juvenile sudden sensorineural hearing loss

Abstract

To explore the clinical profiles of juvenile sudden sensorineural hearing loss (JSSNHL) and examine its clinical characteristics and prognosis. A retrospective review was conducted for the clinical symptoms, audiological characteristics, hematological indices and prognosis in JSSNHL during the past 2 years (from June 2008 to November 2010). All patients were divided into 2 groups according to age, that is group childhood (A, 0-12 years old) and group adolescence (B, 13-18 years old). JSSNHL patients were rarely associated with "aural fullness" symptoms. Two groups of patients with "tinnitus" symptom accounted for 88.2% and 89.5%. Those with "vertigo" symptom accounted for 47.1% and 44.4% respectively. Most patients (81.6%) showed severe and profound hearing loss. The most common types of audiometric curve were flat and total deafness. Some obvious differences existed between two groups in hematological indices, such as platelet count, concentrations of electrolyte ions, mean corpuscular volume and mean corpuscular hemoglobin. Almost half of them (42.1%) improved hearing level during systemic medical treatment. The patients of two groups showed no significant difference in efficacies. And the hearing enhancement degree of patients in group B was more apparent than that of group A. JSSNHL has different clinical features in different age groups. And the outcomes of personalized treatment regimens may be further improved through classification and grading.