Observational Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Dec 26, 2021; 9(36): 11311-11319
Published online Dec 26, 2021. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i36.11311
Audiological characteristics and exploratory treatment of a rare condition of acute-otitis-media-associated sudden sensorineural hearing loss
Xin Cao, Hai-Jin Yi
Xin Cao, Hai-Jin Yi, Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital, School of Clinical Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing 102218, China
Author contributions: Yi HJ designed and coordinated the study, interpreted the data; Cao X performed the experiments, acquired and analyzed data; all authors wrote the manuscript and approved the final version of the article.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital, No. 21192-6-01.
Informed consent statement: Informed consent was obtained from all the subjects.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors have nothing to disclose.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement—checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement—checklist of items.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Hai-Jin Yi, MD, Chief Physician, Full Professor, Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital, School of Clinical Medicine, Tsinghua University, No. 168 Litang Road, Changping District, Beijing 102218, China. caoxin19860201@163.com
Received: June 28, 2021
Peer-review started: June 28, 2021
First decision: July 26, 2021
Revised: July 27, 2021
Accepted: November 5, 2021
Article in press: November 5, 2021
Published online: December 26, 2021
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Acute otitis media (AOM) is a common disease that is more prevalent in children. Most studies concerning AOM-associated sudden sensorineural hearing loss are case reports and retrospective in nature, hence the etiology of AOM-associated sudden hearing loss has not been fully established.

AIM

To analyze audiological characteristics of AOM-associated sudden hearing loss and evaluate efficacy of combined tympanostomy tube placement (TTP) and intratympanic methylprednisolone.

METHODS

Eight adult patients who were diagnosed with AOM-associated sudden hearing loss and ineffectively treated by conventional medical therapy were enrolled in this study. Basic data were collected, and pure tone audiometry was performed to assess the audiological characteristics. Combination therapy with TTP and intratympanic methylprednisolone injection was given to the patients.

RESULTS

Mixed or sensorineural hearing loss was observed at high frequencies (2–4 kHz). All the cases in this study were cured after TTP and intratympanic methylprednisolone. After treatment, the average hearing threshold at affected frequencies was significantly lower than those in the pretreatment group (P < 0.05) and was similar to that in the healthy ears (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSION

AOM rarely induces sudden sensorineural hearing loss. Combination therapy with TTP and intratympanic methylprednisolone injection may be effective after failure of conventional medical treatment.

Keywords: Acute otitis media, Sudden hearing loss, Hearing loss, Tympanostomy tube placement, Intratympanic methylprednisolone injection

Core Tip: Acute otitis media (AOM)-associated sudden sensorineural hearing loss is a rare otological condition and the mechanism and treatment methods have not been defined. This study described the audiological features of the patients with AOM-associated sudden hearing loss and evaluated the clinical efficacy of tympanostomy tube placement and intratympanic methylprednisolone injection after failure of conventional medical therapy.