Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for acute acoustic trauma.

Abstract

We conducted a study on the effect of hyperbaric oxygen therapy on 122 soldiers following acute acoustic trauma. The patients included in this study, after the effect of spontaneous recovery had largely been excluded, were randomly allocated to four treatment groups. The results of our studies show that hyperbaric oxygen therapy shortens the course of healing with respect to high-pitch perception dysacusis. The results of treatment after an observation period of 6 weeks is also more favorable when patients are treated with oxygen when compared to patients given infusions or vasoactive substances. Similarly, the use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy also reduces the frequency of relapse following discharge from hospital. In contrast, the vasoactive substance chosen in our studies (betahistine) failed to have a favorable effect on the course of healing. Our study has also shown that no method can compare with hyperbaric therapy in eliminating tinnitus following acoustic trauma.