Oxigenoterapia hiperbárica no tratamento da surdez súbita idiopática

Abstract

Idiopathic Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss {ISSHL}, or Sudden Deafness, is a clinical entity in which the physiopathology, prognosis and optimal treatment are still under debate. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBO) provides a better coclear oxygenation and might have a positive effect in these patients' hearing recovery. The authors describe a retrospective analysis of our institution's results treating ISSHL with HBO. Globally, HBO granted a good result (final hearing loss 20 dB) to 31.1% of the patients. As a part of primary treatment, HBO had good result for 47.6% of the patients, with a 59.0% average recovery of the initial hearing loss. As a salvage treatment, it had good result for 25.5% of the patients, with a 38.5% average recovery of the hearing loss. Although the unpredictable outcome of the disease and the existence of non-controlled variables don't allow conclusive results, we believe that HBO might have a relevant role in the ISSHL treatment.